'I have nothing to lose' - Ferrand-Prévot eyes Tour-Worlds double in Rwanda
Already world road champion in Ponferrada in 2014, Tour de France Femmes winner Pauline Ferrand-Prévot will line up among the favourites in Kigali next week. Ahead of the trip to Rwanda, she has suggested that her French team is the strongest in the race.
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot will seek to complete a remarkable hat-trick in Rwanda next week as she bids to add the rainbow jersey to her victories at Paris-Roubaix and the Tour de France Femmes this season.
The Frenchwoman’s towering return to road racing after focusing on mountain biking in the years leading up to the Paris 2024 Olympics has been one of the most compelling stories of the season.
On winning the Tour, Ferrand-Prévot had initially signalled that she would forgo the World Championships in favour of the European Championships on home roads in France. She was soon convinced to change her plans, and she will line as one of the favourites on the demanding Kigali course.
“I feel good,” Ferrand-Prévot told L’Équipe. “I’m happy to finish the season in this state of mind and in this physical shape. I just had my coach on the phone to ask him how he thinks I am. I’ve never really managed to finish a season. Last year, after the Olympics, I was mentally and physically tired. It was hard to keep going, whereas now, I feel like I’m still good despite the victories in Roubaix and the Tour de France. I’m a little doubtful, thinking that it’s weird to still feel good now.”
The 33-year-old has raced just once since the Tour, at the Classic Lorient Agglomération in August, but she has been training at altitude in Andorra in preparation for the Worlds. Ferrand-Prévot previously captured the road world title in Ponferrada in 2014, and she has also won rainbow jerseys in mountain biking, cyclocross and gravel.
“Last year, I put a lot of pressure on myself for the Olympics, where, for me, there was no other option than to win. This year, for the Tour, the goal was more to prepare for it as well as possible and to be more mentally free,” said Ferrand-Prévot, who added that she was carrying that 2025 mentality into the Rwanda Worlds.
“I have nothing to lose in this World Championship. It’s a bonus. If I perform, great. If I’m a little less good, it's not the end of the world. After all, it's still a Championship with the French team jersey, so I’m going there with the ambition of doing the best possible. But there’s no bad pressure.”
As ever, the Netherlands will have an imposing squad, led by Demi Vollering, but Ferrand-Prévot insisted that the French line-up with Tour revelation Maëva Squiban, Cédrine Kerbaol and Juliette Labous will be the best in the race.
“It’s clear that I think we have the strongest team,” said Ferrand-Prévot, who downplayed the idea that she would be the most marked rider in Kigali. “I might be a little more marked than usual, but it’s not just me. There are other really strong girls too. It will be interesting to see how the Dutch race. Obviously, there will be a little more marking, but that might give us the opportunity to send someone else up front.”
