Ferrand-Prévot set to miss Montreal Worlds

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot is set to skip the World Championships in Montreal later this month, according to L’Équipe.

The French selections for the Montreal Worlds are due to be officially announced on Friday, but L’Équipe has reported that Ferrand-Prévot has already ruled herself out of consideration for the trip to Canada.

Ferrand-Prévot has not raced since she abandoned the Tour de France Femmes ahead of the penultimate stage, citing illness. She entered the Tour as defending champion, but her challenge floundered early in this year’s race, and she was out of contention for yellow even before the key summit finish at Mont Ventoux.

Although Visma | Lease a Bike indicated after the Tour Femmes that no decision had yet been taken on Ferrand-Prévot’s race programme, it now appears that her season has come to an end.

Ferrand-Prévot enjoyed a sparkling return to road racing with Visma in 2025, winning Paris-Roubaix and dominating the Tour Femmes, but she has not made the same impact in 2026.

The 34-year-old finished on the podium at both the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, but she placed a distant 35th at the Vuelta España Femenina in May ahead of her ill-starred Tour defence.

Ferrand-Prévot won the road world title in Ponferrada in 2014, and she has also collected rainbow jerseys in cyclocross, mountain bike and gravel. She made her return to road racing after a long hiatus with an appearance at the Zurich Worlds in 2024 and she placed 16th in last year’s event in Kigali. 

In Ferrand-Prévot’s absence, Célia Géry (FDJ United-Suez) is expected to lead Paul Brousse’s French team in the women’s road race, which takes place on September 26.

Men’s coach Thomas Voeckler has already confirmed that Paul Seixas will be his leader in Montreal. The Decathlon CMA CGM rider will make his first appearances since the Tour de France this weekend when he lines up at the Grands Prix Cyclistes de Québec et Montréal.