188. Nathalie Baillon - Women’s winner of the 2025 tour divide.

Today’s guest is Nathalie Baillon, a French ultra-distance cyclist with an inspiring story of passion and perseverance. After spending a few years working as an engineer in Munich, she took a leap—packing up her bike and heading off on a solo cycling trip through New Zealand. That journey sparked something big.

Back in Europe, she bought a new bike, strapped on some panniers, and knocked out her first 1,000-kilometre ride in under 60 hours. That was just the beginning.

Soon after, Nathalie moved to Isère, picked up her engineering work again—but also signed up for her first official ultra race: the Race Across France, a grueling 2,600-kilometre ride. And she crushed it.

From there, things took off. She entered international ultra-distance races, landed multiple women’s wins, and regularly placed in the top 10 overall—competing with the best in the field. Eventually, she left her day job to go all-in, building a life around the sport she loves.

To learn more about Nathalie, chek out her website. https://www.nathaliebaillon.com/home/en