Three years to win the Tour de France Femmes? Not so much. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot had said that it would take that long for her to transition from World Cup MTB competition to the very different challenges of multi-day road racing, but stage 8 showed that she's far ahead of schedule.

Andrew Hood and Shane Stokes discuss her historic performance on the Col de la Madeleine that saw the Jumbo-Visma rider tempo away from Vollering and the other GC contenders in dominant yet measured fashion, and Levy wonders just how much danger she was in after being distanced the following day. They also get into why the TdFF doesn't finish in Paris, adding more stages, and why it might be better to hold the Femmes race before the Tour de France.

Further reading:

• ‘It Isn’t What We Expect From Her’: Vollering Cites Lack of Power During Tour de France Femmes Defeat
• Ferrand-Prévot Talks Up 2027 Retirement After Femmes Success: ‘It Could be Beautiful, Extraordinary’
• Tour de France Femmes Prize Money: Ferrand-Prévot Won Big, but It’s a Fraction of What Pogačar Got
• How Mountain Biking Made Pauline Ferrand-Prévot Unbeatable at the Tour de France Femmes

See the latest from the Tour de France Femmes from Velo