Ferrand-Prévôt withdraws from Women's Tour de France before stage 8

Pauline Ferrand-Prévôt withdrew from the Women’s Tour de France before the eighth and penultimate stage, abruptly changing the race’s balance as the defending champion left the general classification fight behind. Her exit came from Sisteron, France, on the eve of a 171.9-kilometer flat stage to Nice that had already become central to the title battle.

Team Visma | Lease a Bike said Ferrand-Prévôt was not well enough to start. “Unfortunately, Pauline was not feeling well this morning. It has been decided that she will not start today. We wish Pauline a speedy recovery.” ESPN reported that she pulled out after feeling unwell, while later coverage said she had suffered stomach problems and fever overnight Tuesday before medical exams ruled her out for Saturday’s road race.

Ferrand-Prévôt started the 2026 race as one of the biggest names in the field after winning the 2025 Tour de France Femmes. Olympics.com said she was 14th in the general classification going into stage 8, a sign that her title defense had already been under strain before the withdrawal. Team Visma | Lease a Bike identified her as an Olympic champion from Paris 2024 and a 12-time elite world champion, underscoring how much star power disappeared from the race in one morning.

The timing mattered because the Tour had begun on August 1 in Switzerland and was set to finish in Nice on August 9, leaving only the final days to decide the yellow jersey. RFI noted at the start of the race that no rider had retained the crown since the event began in 2022, and Ferrand-Prévôt’s withdrawal extended that streak for another year. The exit removed the defending champion from the closing climb toward the overall title and forced every remaining contender to recalculate the route to victory.

Demi Vollering took advantage immediately, winning stage 8 and seizing the yellow jersey after Ferrand-Prévôt stepped out. Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney and the other general classification hopefuls had been racing with the champion in mind; once she was gone, the tactics shifted overnight, with the fight narrowing to who could survive the final stage with the least loss of energy and position.

Ferrand-Prévôt’s withdrawal was a reminder of how fragile stage-race ambitions can be at the Tour de France Femmes. In a race decided over eight demanding days, illness can erase a favorite’s entire campaign in a single morning and turn the closing stages into a different contest altogether.