"I had lost the joy of everyday life" - Pauline Ferrand-Prévot rarely trained after Tour de France Femmes as she opens up on long rest period
Cycling
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot struggled to come to terms with her 2026 Tour de France Femmes defence, admitting that she had not been used to coming up short after a successful preparation.
The French veteran, a former Olympics and Paris-Roubaix champion, arrived at the Tour to defend her crown following a dominant 2025 that saw her blow away the rest of the general classification. However, twelve months later, the script was totally different.
The 24-year-old did not start stage eight of the Tour following an underwhelming string of performances that included a disastrous time trial and poor Mont Ventoux showing, with her chances of retaining the yellow jersey seemingly slipping away.
The Visma | Lease a Bike rider hasn't raced since then, and recently tied the knot with long-term partner Dylan van Baarle as she revealed that she sporadically trained following the Tour after losing her motivation and joy for cycling.
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot
"I had lost the joy of everyday life"
“I was so focused on winning the Tour again that I had lost the joy of everyday life. Everything revolved around doing more and getting better to be the best,” she wrote on Instagram.
“I have experienced difficult moments in my career before, when I felt sad and lost. But I had never experienced doing everything so well and ultimately being left empty-handed.”
Her time away from racing and training has led her to appreciate other things outside of the sport. Van Baarle suffered a training crash that led to serious injuries, and Ferrand-Prévot was happy to be there to support her partner.
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Ferrand-Prévot finds perspective
“When you see that the person you love most is having such a hard time, it puts everything into perspective. For once, I was glad I could be there for him. Normally, he is the one who always takes care of me.
“I remember how happy I was when I won the Olympics, the Tour, and Paris-Roubaix , but marrying Dylan, surrounded by the most important people in my life, was a whole other level of happiness.”
Looking ahead, she's contracted until the end of the 2028 season. Although not going into detail on her plans and motivation for next season, Ferrand-Prévot had a simple and sharp declaration.
She added: “I am sure I will come back stronger.”
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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- 20 winners for 3rd year in a row!Lozza31-10-2026
- peak power minimum weight- 2025 they managed it, 2026 they overdid it leaving her empty. Upto Roubaix it is power and then they start reducing weight leading to the TDF. How much and how fast with a larger degree of uncertainty with weight means you cannot really approach it with surety that it will always work.abstractengineer31-10-2026
- I think they pestered him too much to sign and are now paying the price.abstractengineer31-10-2026
- You go it. He’ll just power away in the mountains, never to be seen again.Zanny31-10-2026
- After reading the true extent of Pogis injuries I really cannot justify his schedule of so many long tours which dramatically increase the risk of crashing again.One Day races would be my hope he sticks to.What does he have to prove to anyone anymore?
Brucegel31-10-2026 - Anyone noticed how this website makes articles that just report discussions between its own staff?Renz31-10-2026
- All of you know Bob Roll is not known for his expert evaluations. Of course, I come from the Phil Liggett & Paul Sherwin era. I was and still am broken hearted Paul passed away . I would rather listen to Eurosport's announcers now. Unfortunately, we cant get Eurosport in the US. My wife gets irratated with me because I turn down the volume when Bob is 'calling the plays' Oooops, did that slip out????? ;~ )Paggss31-10-2026
- Once again, I agree.Paggss31-10-2026
- All good ponts.Paggss31-10-2026
- I didn't think of TT'ling. That's a good point. It may hinder his ability. Hopefully not but, it might. We'll fing out next season.Paggss31-10-2026
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