Pauline Ferrand-Prévot has confirmed she will not compete at the World Championships in Rwanda later this year, instead focusing on the European Championships in her home country. The decision comes just weeks after she claimed overall victory at the Tour de France Femmes with Visma-Lease a Bike, a result that marked a major milestone in her return to full-time road racing.
For much of the season, the French rider’s absence from the Worlds seemed certain, but in the immediate aftermath of her Tour triumph she admitted she was leaving the door slightly open. “I don’t know yet. I need to rest first, see how I recover and enjoy the moment. I didn’t want to go initially, but with this form maybe I could make a last-minute call. I still have to decide,” she said at the time.
Ferrand-Prévot’s road world title in 2014 in Ponferrada remains a standout moment in her career, but a European title is one major honour still missing from her palmarès. That opportunity will come in mid-September in the Ardèche, where she will ride in front of home fans. “I’ve decided I need to take it a bit easier. I don’t want to travel to Africa. That’s why I’ll only race a few more times before the end of the year. The European Championships will be one of them,” she explained.
Photo Credit: A.S.O./Pauline BalletTour de France victory sparks celebrations in Visma-Lease a Bike
Ferrand-Prévot’s Tour success has been transformative for Visma-Lease a Bike, who brought her back to road racing at her own initiative last winter. Within months, she delivered the team’s first overall title at the Tour de France Femmes.
“In her first race we had a few worries, but those disappeared straight away,” said sports director Jos van Emden, who admitted the final stage wasn’t without its nerves. A difficult start saw the team briefly on the back foot, forcing the entire squad to chase back. “That wasn’t the plan,” Van Emden laughed. “We all had to work very hard, but it showed the strength we had across the board. With a weaker team, things could have gone wrong.”
Colleague Jan Boven described the achievement as even greater than their Paris-Roubaix victory earlier in the season, while Marianne Vos called it “goosebumps” and teammate Lieke Nooijen labelled it “a dream”. The squad celebrated together before the podium, acknowledging the scale of what they had achieved.
Team manager Richard Plugge called Ferrand-Prévot “the best rider in the world” and sees the win as a landmark moment for the team’s women’s programme. “We’ll keep building. This is part of what we want to achieve in women’s cycling,” he said.
For now, the focus shifts to recovery and the next target on home roads. As Ferrand-Prévot put it, winning the Tour de France Femmes is something to savour – but the season isn’t over just yet.
