At the finish line, there is only one winner. Victory was only possible thanks to the essential support of teammates who sacrifice their personal ambitions for the captain. The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift has crowned only one queen in yellow: Annemiek van Vleuten in 2022, then Demi Vollering, Kasia Niewiadoma, Kristen Phinney and finally Pauline Ferrand-Prévot in the summer of 2025. Everyone knows what they owe to their teammates, especially those most precious and present at the top. Before crowning a new winner on Sunday, August 9 in Nice, the official Tour website gives voice to these exceptional figures, who tell us their roles with "PFP", Kasia or Demi, and paint a different portrait of the Yellow Jersey candidates.

Marion Bunel: "Going beyond with my idol is a privilege"

At 20 years old, Marion Bunel (Visma | Lease a Bike) earned herself a small place in history last summer by accompanying her idol Pauline Ferrand-Prévot to the title of Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. The young climber was only 10 years old when the French star became triple world champion on road, cyclocross and mountain bike. Their first meeting, in 2015, was between a fan and a champion. A decade later, she experienced an "unreal" moment when she launched Ferrand-Prévot to glory on the roads leading to Col de la Madeleine, during the eighth stage of the Women's Tour 2025. 

Born into a family of enthusiasts, practicing since childhood, Marion Bunel grew up admiring Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, a precocious and extraordinary star: in 2015, at the age of 22, she wore the rainbow jersey simultaneously on road, in cyclocross and mountain bike. Little Marion, who practiced cyclocross (Normandy champion in the minimes category) confesses: "She is a champion I admired, even an idol. With my older sister, we started in cycling and we heard the name Pauline everywhere at cycling school, because she was triple world champion".

"It was strange to meet in real life the champion I saw in magazine photos, who won on TV - recalls Marion Bunel, who met her idol for the first time in 2015, during an evening organized by the association Elles à vélo. - It was an event in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines to promote women's cycling. She was very kind, very warm". The young fan of that time took the opportunity to get photos signed and even a rainbow jersey. "She really took the time to have fun with us".

From admiration to intimacy: "I discovered someone very, very relaxed"

When it came to interacting with Visma | Lease a Bike, in the summer of 2024, Marion Bunel had not yet measured what awaited her: "I had no idea that Pauline would also join the team. Then I told myself: 'This is crazy what's happening!' It increased the intensity of the dream I was already living. I was even more excited to start with the team, because I knew I would meet her. For me it was very impressive and it really made my arrival at the team special".

Even before the first training camps, the two women met in Switzerland, wearing the French national jersey, to compete at the World Championships. "It was her who came to me - Marion Bunel marvels -. She had seen my victory at the Tour de l'Avenir. It made me happy to think that she knew what I had done during the summer... We're talking about Pauline Ferrand-Prévot!".

"Then, I discovered someone very, very relaxed, very pleasant. It was also very interesting to discover the person behind the champion. We had an excellent relationship from the first training camps. We do what we love, ride bikes, and we get along". The foundations of a fruitful partnership were laid. Their relationship then took on a completely new dimension in the summer of 2025.

Objective Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift: "For three weeks we climbed the same passes"

At the end of spring, Marion Bunel learned that she would participate in her first Tour. At 20 years old, she must even play an important role in accompanying "PFP" on the high mountains. "Since then, I really started preparing: there are many things to learn from her ability to prepare an event, it's very inspiring. We did a good training camp in Tignes: for three weeks we climbed the same passes, training together. I was glued to her wheel and my goal was simply to try to survive as long as possible. Sometimes we had exercises, six, eight minutes, and they seemed like endless minutes because they were really very intense in effort".

"These are really unforgettable moments: pushing myself beyond my limits at the wheel of my idol is still a privilege. There are also all the moments shared during meals and during these three weeks in the mountains. It creates bonds and beautiful memories. When we returned from the camp, we had dinner at my parents' house. It's something you never forget with my family".

The conquest of the Yellow Jersey: "A moment out of time, really unreal"

"During this training camp, we both did reconnaissance of the Madeleine and projected ourselves on what could happen there during the race" recalls Marion Bunel. At the summit of the eighth stage, on the eve of the finish in Châtel, the formidable climb (18.6 km at 8.1%) was a real scarecrow on the roads of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2025. Ferrand-Prévot launched the decisive assault, after decisive work by Marion Bunel, who had taken the lead to help her leader.

"At that point, we reverse the situation I experienced during preparation, she's at my wheel and I have to give my all, for as long as possible. Once again, she was able to guide me very well, only with effective words so I understood if I was making a good effort, even to motivate me. Just when I feel myself slowing down a bit, she flies away to go win. It was a timeless moment when I went into autopilot mode. I remember it a bit like I wasn't even on the bike. Because it seemed really unreal".

"I'm very happy to have spent those few minutes with her, because before there had been a lot of suffering. I fell three times and the last time I thought: 'I won't make it.' The Tour is so demanding, even though I'm in great shape, I was really starting to lose hope. But I promised myself I would continue. We had prepared so well for this that I wanted at least to make it to the Madeleine".

A leader who also knows how to give: "She is a mentor"

"Pauline is a leader who is present for her teammates. There's an objective, but she will take care of us and make sure we're in the best possible condition, that we feel good. She wants everyone to get along, for everyone to have fun. So, even with big objectives, you reduce stress as much as possible and face it with a lot of calm. Then, there's also a lot of seriousness to achieve the objective. When you go, you go. And if we succeed, she also makes sure to celebrate the success with us!".

The star Pauline also knows how to support her teammates. This spring she sacrificed herself for Marianne Vos, very emotional on the cobblestones of Paris-Roubaix Femmes Hauts-de-France. Subsequently she accompanied Marion Bunel to third place in the Vuelta Femenina. "We have the same mentality: 'Let's give our all and have fun'. And of course, in cycling, you have to know how to adapt a lot. In the last two stages I was in great shape and the course adapted perfectly to my strengths. She supported me impeccably, giving me all the advice possible. Her help was fundamental. It's no small thing to have Pauline by your side at a moment like that. She is a mentor".

PROFILE

Marion Bunel (Team Visma | Lease a Bike)
Born October 7, 2004 in Bernay (Eure, France)

Teams:
    St Michel-Mavic-Auber (2023-2024)
    Visma | Lease a Bike (from 2025)

Main results:
    2026: 3rd place at Vuelta Femenina (best young rider)
    2025: 3rd in Volta a Catalunya (best young rider)
    2024: Winner of Tour de l'Avenir

Results at Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift:
    2024: 17th overall, third best young rider
    2025: 39th overall, 4th best young rider