Ferrand-Prévot wins Tour for moment of history

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot confirmed an exuberant overall win in the Tour de France Femmes in style, with her second mountain-stage win in Châtel Les Portes du Soleil.

- Jeremy Whittle Châtel

Amid euphoric scenes, Ferrand-Prévot, gold medal-list at the Paris Olympics last year, followed up her lone win on the Col de la Madeleine on Saturday with another solo exploit in the Tour's final stage.

Ferrand-Prévot is the first French rider to win the Tour de France Femmes, 36 years after her compatriot Jeannie Longo won the Tour de France Féminin, although that race did not compare with the scale, difficulty and global renown of the latest incarnation. Suddenly, after waiting 40 years for a successor to Bernard Hinault in the men's Tour, all France is now enamoured by women's cycling and with the 33-year-old from Reims.

Ferrand-Prévot's achievement, of winning the Tour de France and Paris-Roubaix in the same year, and both within 12 months of winning Olympic gold for mountain biking, confirms her versatility and ambition. She had reverted to road racing from mountain biking and stated that it was her ambition to win the Tour within three years. She did it in one.