Ferrand-Prévot loses touch with the leaders in Beaujolais

Belleville-en-Beaujolais – 05.08.2026: The climbs to Mont Brouilly split the field, and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot found herself on the wrong side of the decisive acceleration. The French defending champion lost another 2:35 minutes to the front on the fifth stage of the 2026 Tour de France Femmes and slipped to 17th place in the overall standings. After five stages, her deficit to Swiss overall leader Marlen Reusser stands at exactly five minutes.

Demi Vollering won the 140-kilometer stage from Mâcon to Belleville-en-Beaujolais in 3:53:54 hours. The Dutch rider from French team FDJ United-SUEZ prevailed in the sprint of a three-rider group ahead of Reusser of Movistar Team and Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney of Canyon-SRAM. Reusser retained the yellow jersey, but Vollering moved to within 12 seconds of her thanks to the time bonus.

The decisive selection began on the Col de Durbize, around 30 kilometers from the finish. Vollering raised the pace on the steeper section, and Ferrand-Prévot was unable to follow. Cédrine Kerbaol, Anna van der Breggen, Elisa Longo Borghini and Paula Blasi also lost contact. Vollering attacked again on Mont Brouilly. Reusser and Niewiadoma-Phinney held their place alongside her and ultimately formed the group that contested the stage victory.

Ferrand-Prévot reached the finish together with Kerbaol and van der Breggen. For the Visma-Lease a Bike rider, it was the second major setback in succession after the time trial from Gevrey-Chambertin to Dijon. In the overall standings, Reusser, Vollering, Niewiadoma-Phinney, Antonia Niedermaier, Dominika Wlodarczyk, Longo Borghini and numerous other riders now rank ahead of her.

After the stage, Ferrand-Prévot’s assessment was unusually frank. Her rivals were stronger; she conceded that the deficit could no longer be recovered in the battle for the overall classification. Five minutes do not mathematically end all chances. However, in a stage race where the strongest climbers already occupy the top positions, a turnaround would only be possible through an extraordinary collapse by the competition or a far-reaching tactical attack.

Vollering and Reusser now shape the situation at the front. Reusser leads after a total race time of 15:41:18 hours, 12 seconds ahead of Vollering. Niewiadoma-Phinney follows 1:17 minutes behind. Ferrand-Prévot therefore lost more than time in Beaujolais: the battle for yellow is, for now, taking place without the defending champion. Her gap to the lead has grown to five minutes since the time trial and the fifth stage.