Pauline Ferrand-Prévot rolled into the Paris Games with one goal in mind: to finally put her Olympic demons behind her and win a gold medal. Having achieved that, and in spectacular fashion, the French woman is following through on her other stated goal: to return to racing on the road.
Eyes on a return to France
Just days after winning an Olympic gold medal in cross country mountain biking, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot confirmed rumours, announcing she will race with Visma Lease a Bike in 2025. The highly-decorated racer, now 32 years old, is just as clear about her intentions on the road as she was going into the Paris Games.
“I want to win The Tour de France Femmes,” Ferrand-Prévot says in her Visma Lease a Bike announcement.
While her ambitions are high, Ferrand-Prévot does acknowledge that a lot has changed since her historic road-cyclocross-mountain bike triple world championship season back in 2014.
“Women’s cycling has come a long way since I left the sport,” the Olympic champion adds. “I can’t wait to get back into the peloton. With the support of the team, I am sure I can do great things again, so I am very motivated”
The change, she says, is motivated by her desire for a fresh objective.
“Last winter, I was thinking about my future after the Olympics. I had been chasing an Olympic medal in mountain biking for 12 years. I have now achieved that goal. I think it’s time for a new challenge in cycling.”
Big goals and a short time frame
While Ferrand-Prévot has her sights set on the Tour de France, she won’t necessarily have to win that in 2025. The French woman arrives at Visma Lease a Bike with a three-season contract. That will carry her through to age 35.
While Ferrand-Prévot hasn’t raced on the road in a while, Visma Lease a Bike is confident enough in her past palmares that the team is already identifying her for a leadership role.
“She will be our team leader in the Grand Tours, but she will also be able to compete in the Walloon Classics, says Visma Team Manager Rutger Tijssen. “It will be a challenging project, but we as a team believe she can do it. Although the transition to road racing will take some time. Mountain biking is an explosive one-and-a-half-hour sport. A road race is more about endurance over a longer period. We will give her time to become a road cyclist again.”
End of Ineos’ women’s program
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