When Femke de Vries rolled across the finish line on Portes du Soleil 10 minutes behind leader Pauline Ferrand-Prévot on the 3rd of August 2025, the highlight of her year was a reality. She had been a part of the team’s first ever Tour de France Femmes victory.

“My 2025 was beyond expectations,” De Vries recalls. “So many beautiful things happened. We won the Tour together, and that’s something I could have never expected. It’s unbelievable that it happened,” she says.

De Vries played a vital role for Ferrand-Prévot on some of the hardest stages of the Tour de France Femmes, even finishing 20th overall herself, and perhaps knew more about the eventual Tour champion than anybody else during those eight days. The Dutch climber shared rooms with Ferrand-Prévot throughout the race, and saw firsthand what it takes to win.

“Pauline is usually very social, but the last weeks before and during the Tour, she was really focused. Nothing could get her mind off the Tour. It was inspirational to see someone be so focused. That was special,” De Vries says.  

Not only the Tour de France Femmes made 2025 a great year for De Vries, however. Already before the prolonged week in France, she had shown good form in races like Amstel Gold Race and Volta a Catalunya, and after the Tour she continued by taking second overall in Tour de l’Ardèche. A confirmation of her potential as a GC threat, which is something she will continue to work on in 2026.

“Of course, the Tour is a major goal again next year. But personally, my first goal will be the UAE Tour. That race suits me really well. After that, I’ll do races like Strade Bianche and the Ardennes, and then I’ll probably get the chance to go for the GC in Vuelta a España,” she says.

Although 2025 was not her debut year with Team Visma Lease a Bike, it was her first full season with the team. Therefore, she was still getting to know everything and everyone. Now though, she feels right at home and is ready to apply all the learnings of last year into her racing in 2026.

“I really think I took a step forward last season, but there are still many things I can learn about racing. Sometimes, I get stressed and spend too much energy in the beginning of races, so I need to learn to be more patient.”

Next season will also be a season with more pressure than before, a consequence of the success in 2025. Especially at the peak of the season in the Tour de France Femmes, where De Vries and her teammates will be riding as defending Tour de France champions. That does not necessarily scare her, however, as the plans stay the same. 

“Of course there is more pressure. But last year we showed that we can deliver when it really matters. Everyone was fully committed to the plan. My season will be successful if I win a race and if I can play an important role in the results of my teammates, on or off the bike,” De Vries concludes.