Cycling Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift

Marlan Reusser shifts focus to 'Project Nice' after taking yellow - but Pauline Ferrand-Prevot and Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney are up for 'challenge'

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Marlen Reusser says she is shifting her focus forward at the 2026 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift following her Stage 4 victory on Tuesday which gave her the lead in the general classification (GC) standings and the yellow jersey.

Highlights: Reusser goes into yellow with consummate TT triumph

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Reusser (Movistar) leads Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) by 14 seconds after producing a sparkling ride in the individual time trial into Dijon, showcasing why she is the world time trial champion.

The Swiss rider said that she had been targeting this stage because of her time trial excellence, with her team referring to Stage 4 as 'Project Dijon.'

And now she has successfully overcome that hurdle, Reusser said they might need to coin a new aim for the rest of the Tour de France Femmes.

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"Actually, we never called something 'Project Nice' but I think we [now] have 'Project Nice,'" the 34-year-old told reporters after the stage.

"We do everything we can to do that. But, as was the case with 'Project Dijon', you just can't know how everything is going to turn out.

"As I said, I'm super happy that I'm here in yellow. If I stand in Nice in yellow, I'm even happier, but you don't know. We've seen it in so many stage races – so many things can happen; it can change. I'm not at all like, 'I have yellow, I've got to have it in Nice,' but I think it's possible."

The Tour de France Femmes finishes in Nice on August 9, where Reusser will hoping to be standing atop the podium.

While Reusser might have the lead at the moment, there are plenty of riders who are still gunning for top spot with five stages to go and the race heading to the mountains.

Defending GC champion Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (Visma-Lease a Bike) endured a difficult time trial as she finished 34th.

The 34-year-old has not ridden an individual time trial for some years and some rustiness showed.

The French rider was honest about her performance in the race, saying she was "simply not strong enough and that's that."

Although Ferrand-Prevot now sits in 14th in the GC standings, 2'13" behind Reusser, she is optimistic about the position she is in.

"We knew the first three stages were going to be really tough. Yesterday was really intense; it's true that towards the end they attacked and I really struggled to make it to that sprint bonus, so there you go," she told reporters.

'Project Dijon' pays off on Stage 4 for 'super happy' Reusser

Video credit: TNT Sports

"I knew they weren't going to give me any breaks on the short climbs anyway. I know that'll be the case tomorrow too and the days after that, so there you go. Now there's nothing left to do but fight.

"In any case, I quite like this scenario of having to go after them rather than being the favourite myself, so it's going to be a good challenge."

The 2024 winner Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon-SRAM) expressed a similar sentiment after finishing 13th in Tuesday's time trial, saying the Tour "properly starts" now.

"I was looking forward to this particular moment to be done with and focus on the climbs to come," Niewiadoma-Phinney said.

"Tomorrow is going to be a super hard stage. We're here to be aggressive, we have a strong team, and we want to do our best. We're in great shape, so what else can you do other than race your bike now?"

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Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift