It's true that there are tears and tears. Those shed by Pauline. Ferrand Prevot In Andorra, at the recent MTB World Championship race, they had a kaleidoscope of emotions. There was joy and pain, gratitude and regret, because for the Olympic champion that was the last race ever contested on fat tires. A world that gave her everything, right up to the apotheosis of Paris, the Olympic gold medal she won in front of her home crowd. What more could you possibly want?
The post-Paris celebrations
Pauline didn't even prepare for that World Championship, in some ways she even thought about not even competing. The days after the Olympic victory were spent between celebrations, chores, more celebrations, more chores... It was difficult to be able to train, even though the French athlete is now at home in Andorra.He was physically exhausted, he tried to hold out for a couple of laps, but then his world championship became something else.
«I immediately understood that it wasn't my day. "I was so upset," he told reporters immediately after finishing 14th. "And I wouldn't have been able to defend my world title. I could have ended my season after the Olympic gold medal, but it wouldn't have been fair to those who were close to me, especially the fans. I knew that on a day like that, competitively speaking, I had everything to lose, but I couldn't back out."
Gold for Pieterse, applause for her
So, while in front Puck Pieterse he was going to take the world title and Martina Berta won a splendid bronze medal for the Italian colours, Pauline Ferrand Prevot transformed the race into a catwalk, stopping to thank her mechanic and her parents, greeting the crowds of fansAt that point, the placing became an irrelevant detail for a girl who had everything from cycling, even boasting the record of being the only one capable of wearing the world champion jersey on the road, in mountain biking and in cyclocross at the same time, that hat trick that people like Van der Poel e pidcock even today it haunts like a chimera.
At 32, Pauline decided to change her career: After having won everything in off-road racing, he wants to dedicate himself body and soul to the road and he wants to do it immediately, to the point that he will already be present at the World Championships in Zurich, even without having done anything this year.
«The idea was born in the French retreat during the Games, at the Domaine du Tremblay in Yvelines – says the Olympic gold medalist L'Equipe I asked if I could participate in the World Cup and they immediately said yesIt would be a great way to get back to the world I practically abandoned in 2015, limiting myself to occasional experiences."
The Tour de France dream
Pauline had already said before winning the Olympic gold that His ambition was to dive back into road cycling to chase new dreams: another rainbow jersey first and foremost, but in the background the yellow jersey of Tour de France Women's cyclingIf we're talking about the rainbow jersey, Zurich won't be the right day: "I'll stay in Andorra to train, but we've already agreed that I'll prepare to be ready for the team. There will be seven of us, and I'll make myself available to whoever is the team's top athlete."
A soft approach, at least in expectations, also because the physical conditions are what they are and Yvan Clolus, the national mountain bike coach who contributed to the decision was clear on this matter: «A third peak in form at the end of September cannot be expected after the stress of the season and Olympic preparationIt would be asking too much of her, but the experience will be very useful for her to rejoin the group and relish certain experiences. This will be her daily routine in the new phase of her career; it's right to start now."
But in 2025, there's no joking around...
Pauline, who has already chosen to leave Ineos to join the Visma-Lease a Bike, the only foreigner (for now) in an all-Dutch team with the stainless Your and the rampant Van Empel, she immediately got back to work: «In the week before the mountain bike world championships I had accumulated a lot of work, which is also why I knew I couldn't do much in the world championship race». What is certain, looking at her road palmarés which stops at 2022, is that also Ferrand Prevot has no intention of joking with the superlight: with 5 French titles, one world title, one Fleche Wallonne and more under her belt, she has all the possibilities to enter the top of a rapidly evolving environment, among champions looking for redemption (Kopecky, Vollering) and great returns (Van der Breggen). Rest assured, there will be room for her too…
