When the next history of Irish cycling is written, Mia Griffin, Fiona Mangan and Lara Gillespie will get a chapter of their own; one they’ve written themselves over the last nine days in France.
Before this year, no Irish woman had ever ridden the Tour de France. And now Gillespie (UAE Team ADQ), Mangan (Winspace Orange Seal) and Griffin (Roland Le Dévoluy) are the new ‘giants of the road’ of Irish cycling.
This weekend they have faced the hilliest, perhaps most daunting, terrain of their careers, including as summit finish on yesterday’s 112km stage 8 to the top of Col de la Madeleine. But they have battled through and, today, their places in Irish sporting history are secure.
Gillespie enjoyed quite a solid ride to the end of this race; finishing alongside riders like Marianne Vos (Visma Lease a Bike) today. The Irish woman was 42nd over the line, some 23:45 down after 3,000m of elevation gain on the 125km road from Praz-sur-Arly to Châtel Les Portes du Soleil.
Griffin was in a very large group, some 30:37 down, and finished in 87th. As for Mangan, who told stickybottle her form wasn’t where she hoped it would be over the last week, she perhaps paid for her aggressive 100km breakaway ride on Friday.
Today she was 121st of the 124 finishers and was 41:50 down on stage winner, and overall victor, French legend Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma | Lease a Bike). But the finishing places matter little, if at all, for the Irish women.
In starting this race, they were doing something no Irish woman ever had. And in finishing they have now blazed the trail to be followed by any other Irish cyclist who rides this race in the years to come.
Along the way, Gillespie confirmed her world class standing with 3rd on stage 4, which ended in a bunch sprint. She was beaten only by legend Vos and the pro peloton’s fastest woman, Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx Protime).
Mangan and Griffin tried many times to go in the breakaways, with Mangan’s efforts paying off on Friday’s stage 7 when she spent 100km up the road in big company.
All three riders now emerge from this Tour having achieved something special, which transends their results. There are very few ‘firsts’ left in pro sport, but the achievement of Gillespie, Griffin and Mangan is up there with Shay Elliott being the first Irishman to ride the men’s Tour six decades ago.
We perhaps don’t see the achievement of these three women in that context just yet. But, with the passage of time, especially when people look back years from now, we will. Mangan, Gillespie and Griffin will be seen as the three women who showed others from the island of Ireland that getting into the Tour, and making a mark, is not just a pipe dream.
On today’s stage 9, Ferrand-Prévot was put under pressure on the first descent shortly after the start in Praz-sur-Arly after being in the wrong side of the peloton when it split. Her team rode her back on, though all were dropped as the stage unfolded. That left the race leader – who took yellow on winning yesterday’s stage 8 – very isolated. But she rode a masterful race.
She let the others in the select group do most of the riding and then went solo in the final to take an emotional victory, and extend her winning margin. She crossed the line, delighted and in tears, some 20 seconds up on the overall winner from two years ago, Demi Vollering (FDJ SUEZ).
Katarzyna Niewiadoma (CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto) and Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl Trek) were 3rd and 4th, both at 23 seconds. Gillespie’s UAE Team ADQ Polish team team mate, Dominika Włodarczyk, was 5th at 33 seconds.
The big loser of the day was the Australian rider Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance-Soudal Team), whose descending saw her lose touch with the select group, after she looked one of the very strongest on the climbs.
She put up a spirited chase on her own, in a bid to still make the final podium. But riding into a headwind, and against a group up front, she lost 3:53 and tumbled from 2nd on GC to 6th.
Ferrand-Prévot emerged a very convincing overall winner, having stamped her authority on the race by winning the final two stages solo. She took the overall win by a whopping 3:42 from Vollering, with Niewiadoma 3rd at 4:09.
More to come.
The story was beautiful and she made it exceptional, @FERRANDPREVOT gives France its first GC victory. Relive this emotional last kilometre. 🥹
L'histoire était belle, elle l'a rendue exceptionnelle, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot offre à la France sa première victoire au général sur le… pic.twitter.com/0FghpZD2Y8
— Le Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift (@LeTourFemmes) August 3, 2025
