It has been a long time in the making. For nearly four decades, no French cyclist has been able to take home the coveted yellow jersey from the Tour de France. But the wait has finally ended. With a thumping finish to stage nine, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot made history by becoming the first French star to win cycling’s biggest race since Jeannie Longo did it in 1989. And with that, the Tour de France also managed to attain a history of its own.

This year’s Tour de France had many French people rolling their eyes. With the final stage of the men’s race being rerouted through Montmartre, residents of the region weren’t happy about how the decision could potentially disrupt their daily lives with an additional influx of tourists. However, by the time the women’s race ended, the entire nation had something to smile about, and the race also managed to cash in on the development.

On August 4, the official Togethxr account hit X to share the major milestone the oldest of the three Grand Tours attained in 2025. “The Tour De France Femmes brought in record-breaking numbers,” noted the social media update’s caption with glee before elaborating on the subject. As per the X post, “26 million viewers in France tuned in, making the 2025 event the most-watched ever, and an increase of 7.4 million viewers compared to 2024.”

Ever since the women’s version of the Tour de France relaunched in 2022, the event has attracted significant fans every time. A major jump from the situation that led to the halt of its predecessor, indeed! In the same year that saw Longo being crowned the women’s champion, it was also the last time the Tour de France Feminin was decided to be cancelled because of a lack of funds and support. However, as the Tour de France Femmes proved this year, the sky is the limit for women cyclists.

But hey, Ferrand-Prévot’s exhibition of resilience and utter grit surely helped, we’d bet. A prolific mountain biker, the French cyclist noted her desire to win the Tour de France Femmes within three years after bagging gold at the 2024 Paris Games. But evidently, she didn’t need more than a year to achieve the stellar feat. But France seemed to be in the driver’s seat at this year’s race from the beginning.

In the opening stage of the 2025 Tour de France Femmes, Marianne Vos took advantage of Ferrand-Prévot’s, her national teammate, exhaustion a posted a big win with a dramatic win at Plumelec. However, over the 18.6 km stretch of Col de la Madeleine in Stage 8, Ferrand-Prévot tore away from her rivals and finished the final stage four minutes nine seconds ahead of defending champion Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney.

Despite a strong fight coming from Sarah Gigante in Stage 8, Ferrand-Prévot held her ground and maintained a lead of two minutes and 37 seconds before the final stage. Justifiably, she was overwhelmed with emotions after her win at the Tour de France. “[Today] I was a bit scared with the pressure of this jersey … I had to stick to the front and just stay there. [This morning] I said to the DS [directeur sportif] I would like to win in yellow, so I’m so, so happy,” she told reporters after her triumph.

With her victory came the end to the scintillating thriller that was the 2025 Tour de France.

The Tour de France had a lot to meet the fans’ needs for entertainment

This year’s biggest cycling extravaganza will linger in collective memory for more than one reason. Among other things, the audacity of pranksters trying to disrupt the race was something that baffled the fans. The 17th stage of the men’s Tour de France nearly got usurped by a “fake rider” who attempted to cross the finishing line just minutes before the first riders. The authorities were swift to bring the situation under control, and the culprit was handed a hefty fine as well as a pr*son sentence along with a ban from the event.

While the fake rider issue didn’t hold things up, the Tour de France Femmes stumbled into a pothole even before it began. Just moments before race director Marion Rousse was about to signal the beginning of the women’s edition of this year’s race, a bollard caused mayhem with one rider failing to navigate around the traffic object and tripping over it. The riders behind er, who were cycling at a controlled speed before getting into their racing gear, piled up, and the race was delayed by several minutes.

But all is well that ends well, right? Right! How do you think Pauline Ferrand-Prévot’s incredible victory this year will help the Tour de France Femmes and the competition in general, to benefit next year? Are we en route to seeing even greater viewership numbers and fandom over the iconic race in 2026? Share your thoughts below!