And then there was one. The Col de la Madeleine was always going to be the decisive stretch of road in this year's Tour de France Femmes, and so it proved as Pauline Ferrand-Prévot soloed away from her rivals to take the stage and with it the yellow jersey.
With her magical solo triumph atop the 18.6km Alpine col, the 33-year-old has surely cemented herself as the first French Tour de France winner in four decades, following in the wheel tracks of Bernard Hinault, who won the men's title in 1985, and Jeannie Longo, who last won the women's title in 1989.
Earlier this week, the French media were asking whether double stage winner Maëva Squiban could be the answer to the nation's prayers in the coming years. Just a day after the Breton rider's second triumph, Ferrand-Prévot seems to have answered them.
One stage lies between the multi-disciplinary star and realising those dreams, as well as those of her own childhood. She may have won Paris-Roubaix, Olympic mountain bike gold, world titles in four disciplines, but the Tour is the Tour.
"It's a little girl's dream that's coming true today," Ferrand-Prévot said in the post-stage press conference. "I gave myself three years to try and win the Tour de France. It was a challenge, really, a challenge to see if I could do it.
"Voilà! I know there's still another stage, and I haven't won yet, but to wear this yellow jersey is really a little girl's dream come true. It's an amazing feeling."
Following her dominant ascent of the Madeleine, the Tour's only hors catégorie ascent, Ferrand-Prévot heads into the final day of the race with a more-than-comfortable 2:37 lead over Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance-Soudal), while pre-race favourite Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) lies in third, a further 41 seconds adrift.
The job isn't done, of course, but she has one hand on the trophy, to borrow a phrase from another sport. Sunday is very likely to see Visma-Lease a Bike add another Grand Tour to their palmarès, the first for the women's team, and the big result will have come via a "perfect day" of teamwork in the Alps.
"It's hard to find the words. It was a pretty perfect day," Ferrand-Prévot explained. "The girls worked really hard for me the whole day… We put Marion Bunel in the first breakaway so she could eventually help me on the final climb. From there until the Madeleine, the girls protected me really well.
"I got to the foot of the Madeleine and I felt good. I felt that the pace was high, but I wasn't at full gas. Then, when Sarah attacked, I wanted to see if Demi could follow – I saw that Demi wasn't able to follow, so I tried to get back up to Sarah.
"When I got there, we got to Marion, who was on a slightly flatter part, and that allowed me to recover on her wheel to then attack, accelerate, to try and drop Sarah. It was in the fine details, and everyone rode perfectly as a team.
"That's why I'm really happy, because it was all down to the teamwork – it's a victory for the team."
Ferrand-Prévot's post-stage processes involved media duties and, of course, the podium ceremony atop the Madeleine. Backstage, she shared an emotional moment with her long-time friend, Tour de France Femmes race director Marion Rousse.
The pair had competed together throughout their childhoods, eventually racing in the pro peloton together a decade ago. On Saturday afternoon, Rousse was in the red ASO car following her friend to glory. Later on, she told the media how much Ferrand-Prévot's victory had meant to her.
"When she placed her attack just about halfway up the climb, I said to myself, 'It's not true!' I was lucky enough to be in a very privileged position. I was behind her, and it was crazy," Rousse said.
"She and I started competing together at the age of 10, and I don't have the words because I'm so happy for her. I don't think I have the words to measure her performance because we know how important a French yellow jersey is, and even more so when a champion like Pauline is in the lead."
Ferrand-Prévot's triumph also means a lot for women's cycling, Rousse explained, pointing out that the Rémoise is a great role model for young girls watching the Tour.
"I knew that when she returned to the peloton, there wouldn't be a better role model than her for little girls," Rousse said. "She's doing so much for women's cycling and women's sport in general.
"I've always said that she's a woman who goes beyond even the confines of sport. She's gone down in history even more today."
🥹 Les larmes de Pauline Ferrand-Prévot et Marion Rousse #TDFF2025 #LesRP pic.twitter.com/PwG4jy4pHOAugust 2, 2025
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