While Pauline Ferrand-Prévot maintains that “profitable the Tour de France Femmes” within the subsequent three seasons is her predominant aim in returning to street biking, she will not be dashing into that, with a 2025 schedule based mostly round studying and settling again into the self-discipline.
Ferrand-Prévot is rejoining the world of street racing with Visma-Lease a Bike after ending her mountain biking profession with an Olympic gold medal at her residence Games in Paris. From the second she thought-about a return to the tarmac, the Tour de France has all the time been on the French rider’s thoughts.
“Eventually, I made a decision to step away from mountain biking and return to street racing as a result of I merely wasn’t performed with biking,” mentioned Ferrand-Prévot on the team’s website.
“My final aim is to compete for victory within the Tour de France Femmes over the subsequent three years. But I’ll want a while to settle in, so for now, realism is my tenet. I primarily wish to be 100% ready for the Tour. That means, I received’t have any regrets afterwards.
“This yr’s version will largely be a studying course of. In the years forward, I could return with larger ambitions, however for now, I believe I nonetheless want time to construct towards my absolute prime stage.”
A world champion on the street again in 2014, Ferrand-Prévot has already reached the head of the self-discipline, nevertheless, that was over a decade in the past when the Tour de France Femmes did not even exist. The sport has moved on considerably in that point, each by way of professionalism and the efficiency stage of the entire peloton, and Ferrand-Prévot is aware of she’ll want time to maintain up and adapt her MTB type.
She rode her first street race since 2021 on the World Championships in Zurich, ultimately ending in a DNF, whereas her most up-to-date full street season got here in 2018 when she was on Canyon-SRAM.
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“In 2025, I primarily wish to study and determine areas for enchancment. The most necessary factor is to provide it our all and be capable of say we left nothing on the desk,” mentioned Ferrand-Prévot, conscious that it will not all be plain crusing as soon as the racing kicks off.
“Losing is a part of the method, and that’s the way you study. I’m even wanting ahead to dropping and studying from it along with the group.”
Visma’s administration additionally is not placing an excessive amount of stress on the 12-time World Champion throughout a number of disciplines as she leads them on the Tour de France Femmes in July, trusting that at 32 she will rediscover her greatest legs on the street.
“We wish to see how far we are able to get within the common classification. But we’re not setting a particular end result as a aim,” mentioned ladies’s Team Manager Rutger Tijssen.
“Pauline is simply now returning to street racing, and it’s necessary to remain sensible. Her final goal is to compete for the Tour victory inside three years, however for the approaching season, our focus is on studying and rising as a group.
“That means we would goal a podium end in the summertime, or we would find yourself going for a top-10 end result.”
Ferrand-Prévot additionally laid out two early-season targets of Strade Bianche and the inaugural ladies’s Milan-San Remo. In the early Classics, she’ll additionally reunite with former Rabobank teammate Marianne Vos, earlier than they pair up on the Tour.
She described their time collectively on the Dutch group between 2012 and 2016 as “the most effective 5 years of my profession”, together with her world title and wins at La Flèche Wallonne and a stage of the Giro d’Italia additionally arriving in that interval.
“I raced with Marianne again then, somebody I deeply respect,” continued Ferrand-Prévot. “She’s not solely an incredible rider but in addition an exquisite particular person.”
With Vos and Ferrand-Prévot to construct up their younger group round, Visma are assured of a step up within the coming years, not simply on the Tour de France however all season.
“It’s all a part of a course of. We wish to enhance step-by-step and provides Pauline the time she wants to totally adapt to street racing,” mentioned Tijssen.
“With Marianne as an skilled chief and a proficient group round them, we’ve a strong basis to construct one thing particular—not only for 2025, however for the years to come back.”