At 30 years old and having just won gold in the gravel world championship in Cittadella, Pauline Ferrand Prevot is about to become the first woman to wear the jersey of the Team Ineos GrenadiersWith five world championships won in mountain biking and one in cyclocross, the Frenchwoman is certainly one of the stars of off-roadingHowever, it is good to remember it also world champion on the road in Ponferrada 2014, the same year in which he won the Flèche WallonneThe following year, wearing the rainbow jersey, she won the Aprica stage of the Giro Donne. He raced on the road from 2012 to 2020, then he shrugged it off. For now, at least...
Contacts in May
It was no mystery that the Frenchwoman wanted to change teams, having lost the feeling with the BMC team. And probably having taken this decision has made the job easier Carsten Jeppesen, who is the coordinator of technical sponsors in the British team, but has also recently received the task of following tom pidcock on mountain bike and cyclocross tripsAnd it was precisely his frequent visits to off-road racing fields that led to the contact between the Dane and Prevot.
According to L'Equipe, it seems that the first approach would have taken place in the first half of May, taking advantage of the World Cup trials in Albstadt and Nove Mesto. From there the negotiations began which last week they brought to make the agreement official.
Objective Paris
Initially, when it was just a matter of previews, the transition seemed even more sensational, because It seemed that Ineos had finally opened the doors to the women's WorldTour. Instead the official press release has Prevot's activity was restricted to off-road activities, despite his inclusion in the same roster as Pidcock, Bernal and fellow road racers.
The Frenchwoman, who won the cross country world championship four times, signed for two years with an option to renew, with the stated goal of the Olympics Paris 2024.
"That's everyone's main goal," he explained. "The World Championships will be a necessary step and an opportunity to test equipment and fitness." Until then, no road activity is planned, after that, who knows…».
The door is not completely closed, but Opening up for street business requires a series of non-trivial steps. Last but not least, the creation of a team that doesn't exist yet.
WorldTour Stage
A team within the team actually already exists and it is the off-road one, built around Tom Pidcock, who made Paris his main objective, with the approval or resignation of her employers. This structure, which moves with a super truck and a workshop truck, will also be used by the French champion, who in addition will be added to the men's team with a series of training courses.
«It's super interesting – comments Prevot – I will have my group around and they won't be two different teams. I will be integrated into the WorldTour, I will be able to enjoy training with them. And this is what I immediately liked about the project. I accepted on the condition that I could keep Fabien, my mechanic, and choose my own racing program. The goal is to have people around me I can call when I need them. In terms of training, I still have things to learn. But I think that working with Ineos will help me progress».
Technical freedom
And here an interesting front opens up, inspired by alcune words by Fausto Pinarello in Grenchen, on the occasion of the Ganna Hour, when he talked about new technical projects linked to Pidcock.
The British rider is currently riding a BMC Fourstroke, but there is nothing to stop us from thinking that the Treviso company, in the same way that supplied him with the Crossista model, could launch a racing mountain bike. But it seems certain that this will not happen next year, given that also Ferrand Prevot will have a wide choice of materials.
«It's really an interesting possibility – he confirms – what interests me is that there is development to be done, materials to be tested. I will have the awareness that I can train to be better athletically, knowing that I have all the possibilities of being able to choose the best materials, without constraints with overly rigid sponsorships".
