Ferrand-Prévôt Dominates Penultimate Stage, Poised for Tour de France Victory

Pauline Ferrand-Prévôt, a French cyclist, seized a significant lead in the women's Tour de France. She achieved this by executing a solo attack during the final climb of Saturday's penultimate stage.

This marks Ferrand-Prévôt's debut in the Tour at the age of 33. She currently holds a lead of 2 minutes and 37 seconds over Australian rider Sarah Gigante. Demi Vollering, the 2023 champion from the Netherlands, trails Ferrand-Prévôt by 3 minutes and 18 seconds. The final stage is scheduled for Sunday.

Last year's event saw the narrowest winning margin in the history of both the women's and men's races. However, Ferrand-Prévôt appears poised for a more decisive victory, assuming no unforeseen issues arise.

Ferrand-Prévôt's recent accomplishments include a mountain bike gold medal at the Paris Olympics and a victory in the Paris-Roubaix classic in April.

Heading into stage 8, which spanned 112 kilometers from Chambéry to Saint-François-Longchamp, Ferrand-Prévôt was 26 seconds behind Mauritian rider Kim Le Court. The stage included an initial climb of 13 kilometers up Col de Plainpalais and concluded with a challenging 18.6-kilometer ascent to Col de Madeleine, a renowned cycling climb.

Ferrand-Prévôt made her move approximately 9 kilometers from the summit, distancing herself from her primary competitors. She then pursued Niamh Fisher-Black and Yara Kastelijn, who were ahead. After catching them, she rode solo to secure the stage win.

Gigante finished the stage 1 minute and 45 seconds behind Ferrand-Prévôt, while Fisher-Black took third place, 2 minutes and 15 seconds back. Vollering finished in fourth.

The ninth and final stage on Sunday, from Praz-sur-Arly to Châtel, presents another mountainous route. It will cover 124 kilometers and feature three significant climbs.