Pauline Ferrand-Prevot withdraws from La Vuelta Femenina, with Visma-Lease A Bike rider 'not feeling fit enough' ahead of Stage 5
By James Hilsum
Updated 08/05/2025 at 14:27 GMT+1
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This is not the news Visma-Lease a Bike would have been hoping to publish ahead of Stage 5 of La Vuelta Femenina. Pauline Ferrand-Prevot leaves the Grand Tour as focus shifts to the final mountainous stage of the race, running from Golmayo to Lagunas de Neila. It is the latest blow for Visma-Lease a Bike following their toils in the Barcelona time trial, where they made a complaint to the UCI.
Highlights: Van der Breggen seals first win since 2021 with sublime Stage 4 victory
Video credit: TNT Sports
Visma-Lease a Bike have been dealt a major blow ahead of Stage 5 of La Vuelta Femenina, with Pauline Ferrand-Prevot ruled out for the remainder of the Grand Tour.
Her team confirmed the news via social media on Thursday morning, saying that the Paris-Roubaix Femmes winner is "not feeling fit enough to continue the race."
The 33-year-old leaves the race after sitting 34th in the general classification, 38 seconds adrift of race leader Femke Gerritse (SD Worx-Protime) going into the fourth stage to Borja on Wednesday.
Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-ProTime) was victorious on Stage 4, as she powered her way to a first victory in nearly four years.
It was a superb day for the former world and Olympic champion, as she made a brilliant solo move with just under 7km remaining to seal a second successive stage win for SD Worx-ProTime.
Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike) took second on the day after winning the sprint from the group behind Van der Breggen, with the podium completed by Demi Vollering.
Vos leads the points classification for her team and currently has 170 points, 38 clear of Gerritse's total of 132.
The Dutchwoman sits third overall in the standings, but could relinquish that place in what will be a summit finish at Lagunas de Neila on Thursday.
The task facing the team's next highest-placed riders - Femke De Vries and Imogen Wolff - appears to be too great, with both more than three minutes behind the race lead.
Speaking after Stage 4 in quotes published by Cyclingnews, Vos said: "I went for the highest possible, but a second place was not possible today.
"I really had to fight hard to stay with it. When Anna went, I knew it would be difficult to catch her again."
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‘Welcome back’ – Van der Breggen soloes to superb Stage 4 victory
Video credit: TNT Sports
This is the latest setback for Visma-Lease a Bike after a 10th-place finish in the time trial in Barcelona, where they were held up by what the team said were "errors in the UCI's team time trial start procedure", according to Cyclingnews.
An official complaint followed, stipulating that other teams had arrived late. The complaint also criticised UCI officials for making slow bike checks before the race began.
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Highlights: Vos proves too strong as Visma-Lease a Bike dominate Stage 2
Video credit: TNT Sports
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