"I need to take it a bit easier" - Pauline Ferrand-Prévot skips Kigali to focus on home European Championships

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot was prepared that it might take up to three years to win the Tour de France Femmes when she transitioned to road with Visma | Lease a Bike before this season. Little did she know she would succeed on first try and it's time to think about other targets. One of them seems to be at hand with home European Championships in Ardeche in early October.

"I don't know yet. I need to rest a bit first, see how I recover, and enjoy the moment. I didn't want to go at first, but with this form, I might be able to make a last-minute call. I still have to decide," she told WielerFlits.

On her mission to complete a collection of all the most prized cycling triumphs, Ferrand-Prévot already ticked off the box with "road rainbow jersey" back in 2014. At the end of what was her best road season until now, the Frenchwoman won the sprint of a small leading group in Ponferrada. Instead, the focus will be on the home European Championships in Ardeche a week later

It's a decision that aligns well with her season plan: "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 be riding a few races until the end of the year. The European Championship is one of them, in my home country," she says now.