{"id":2078869,"date":"2026-08-04T18:45:45","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T15:45:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2078869"},"modified":"2026-08-04T18:45:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T15:45:45","slug":"pauline-ferrand-prevot-defends-her-aero-position-after-tt-disaster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2078869","title":{"rendered":"Pauline Ferrand-Pr\u00e9vot Defends Her Aero Position After TT Disaster"},"content":{"rendered":"
Published August 4, 2026 12:45PM<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
It was not a shock that defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Pr\u00e9vot lost time to Tour de France Femmes rivals in the stage 4 time-trial between Gevrey-Chambertin and Dijon. It was her first race against the clock since her comeback to the road scene.<\/p>\n
But the deficit was a surprise. The time trial has shaken up the race: the Visma-Lease a Bike superstar has a 2:13 deficit to new yellow jersey Marlen Reusser and 1:56 to close rival Demi Vollering.<\/p>\n
Ferrand-Pr\u00e9vot looked ill at ease and slower on the bike than the Swiss stage winner, finishhing 34th on the stage.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did my best and I pushed as hard as I could. Now there\u2019s nothing I can do,\u201d she told media at the finish in Dijon.<\/p>\n
The defending champion has a lot of work to do and sizable mountain to climb to get back into contention.<\/p>\n
Just as well she showed she was the best at doing that last year, at least.<\/p>\n
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Aero position \u2018not the prettiest\u2019, but fastest for \u2018PFP\u2019<\/h2>\nFerrand-Pr\u00e9vot was racing her first TT since the 2021 French national championships<\/span> (Photo: Gruber Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
As for her elevated position on the bike, which was noticeably higher than rivals such as Reusser and Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez), Ferrand-Pr\u00e9vot explained she has done tests on the track and in the wind tunnel. It also took into account changes to her body, given two operations on the iliac artery in her groin.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs I am petite, it\u2019s also better to be higher.\u00a0 It was not the prettiest position and not the fastest, but it was the fastest for me,\u201d she said post-race.<\/p>\n
Ferrand-Pr\u00e9vot was already 1 minute 21 seconds down on the climb of Lacets de Marsannay around the day\u2019s halfway mark.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the heat and all, it\u2019s true that I didn\u2019t have the best sensations, but I think it was the same for everyone,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI can\u2019t say if I felt particularly good or bad. I just tried to go all out and to focus on myself, to push as hard as possible and keep an aero position.\u201d<\/p>\n
If Ferrand-Pr\u00e9vot was disappointed, she hid it well as she warmed down outside the Visma-Lease a Bike campervan, 500 meters from the finish in Dijon. After speaking to journalists, she got down to the task of signing autographs for a supportive crowd of over a hundred.<\/p>\n
\u201cPFP\u201d-mania is still alive and well in France. Fans shouted \u201cBravo Pauline\u201d and clapped when she first emerged.<\/p>\n
Given the TT is not her strong suit, Ferrand-Pr\u00e9vot added she was \u201chappy this day is over.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rather the chaser than the one being chased<\/h2>\n
Now she and the Visma-Lease a Bike management know what they need to do: close the gap and attack.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt also depends on the others, how they are, it depends on a lot of things,\u201d the Frenchwoman said of her rivals. \u201cBut in any case, I\u2019ll give my best to claw back his two-minute gap.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cI like this scenario, of having to go chasing time than being the favorite. It will be a nice challenge,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
A wider question is whether we are seeing the best version of Pauline Ferrand-Pr\u00e9vot this summer. She briefly lost the wheel of several favorites under attacks from puncheur <\/i>Kim Le Court-Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal) before regaining contact in the finale of stage 3 Monday.<\/p>\n
She expects more bids to drop her on challenging coming stages.<\/p>\n
\u201cYesterday was super punchy, it\u2019s true that at the end, when they went for it, I was hurting until that bonus sprint. I knew that they\u2019d be giving me no gifts on the short hills. I know that will also be the case tomorrow and the day after [stage 6].\u201d<\/p>\n
Ventoux time differences will be bigger<\/b><\/h2>\n
Visma-Lease a Bike team manager Rutger Tijssen said that they expected a gap and that they \u201cknow what to do now: close it.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the finish on Mont Ventoux looming on stage 7 Friday, he expects bigger gaps than the 2:13 Ferrand-Prevot lost to Reusser.<\/p>\n
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\u201cFor sure, there will be more differences up there. It\u2019s a brutal climb, long and steep,\u201d he said. \u201cThere will be more differences made than this one and a half, two minutes, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
The TT has transformed the complexion of the Tour de France Femmes GC, but there will be more differences to come. It\u2019s crystal clear: Pauline Ferrand-Pr\u00e9vot has to attack to come from behind and defend her title.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Andy McGrath<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Published August 4, 2026 12:45PM<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Z8D_3033-scaled.jpg”] Andy McGrath Published August 4, 2026 12:45PM It was not a shock that defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Pr\u00e9vot lost time to Tour de France Femmes rivals in the stage 4 time-trial between Gevrey-Chambertin and Dijon. It was her first race against the clock since her comeback to the road scene. But the deficit […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,71],"class_list":["post-2078869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-velo-outsideonline-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2078869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2078869"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2078869\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2078869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2078869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2078869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Pauline](\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Z8C_2967-3-720x900.jpg?width=1920&auto=webp&quality=75&fit=cover\")