“I was talking with Tadej Pogacar and he said: ‘It’s been so long!’” – Pauline Ferrand-Prévot links up with fellow Tour de France champion ahead of Strade Bianche return
Cycling
For Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, the long wait for racing is finally over. After a winter built around training and altitude preparation, the reigning Tour de France Femmes champion will begin her 2026 season at Strade Bianche Donne, a race where she believes she arrives stronger than ever.
Speaking in a pre-race interview with L’Equipe, Ferrand-Prevot revealed she recently shared a similar feeling with fellow Tour champion Tadej Pogacar as both riders count down to their return to competition.
“It’s funny, I was just talking with Tadej,” she explained. “He hasn’t raced much since the World Championships either. He said: ‘It’s been so long!’ And I thought exactly the same thing.”
“Even though I love training, I’m really looking forward to racing again after such a long winter," she added. "It’s a bit like going back to school after the summer holidays.”
Altitude preparation and growing confidence
Ferrand-Prevot heads into Strade Bianche after an extended training block in the Canary Islands, where she spent three weeks preparing at altitude. “I feel very good,” she said. “I’ve just come back from a three-week altitude camp in Tenerife, and we had good conditions. I feel ready.”
While the level of the competition will only become clear once the race begins in Tuscany, the French rider believes she already feels stronger than she did twelve months ago. “We don’t yet know the level of the others, but compared to last year, I already feel much better, and I can aim for victory.”
Her confidence also reflects the progress she has made since returning fully to road racing after years focused on mountain biking. “Last year was my return, rediscovering road racing. I arrived at Strade still with the mindset of a mountain biker. This time, I arrive as a road rider. I know what I’m capable of, and I’m more confident.”
Team Visma | Lease a Bike train on the gravel ahead of Strade Bianche 2026
Learning from last year’s Strade Bianche
Ferrand-Prevot finished third in the 2025 edition of Strade Bianche Donne, but she believes the race also provided valuable lessons about how to approach the demanding Tuscan course.
“I watched the race again,” she said. “I spent a lot of energy trying to bridge across to the group that went early. I wouldn’t make the same mistake today.”
Strade Bianche is often deceptive in its difficulty, she explained, particularly as the kilometres begin to accumulate on the gravel roads.
“At the beginning the race doesn’t seem difficult, but after around 100 kilometres it becomes hard. It’s better to manage your energy.”
Racing alongside Marianne Vos
Another important element of Ferrand-Prevot’s development on the road has been her experience racing alongside Marianne Vos at Team Visma | Lease a Bike Women. “Racing with Marianne is such an honour,” she said. “I always learn from her.”
At the same time, she believes the team as a whole has grown stronger heading into the new season. “I also feel that the team is ready and that we’re going to move up a level this year. There are new riders who impressed me during the training camp.”
A new status in the peloton
Ferrand-Prevot’s victory in last year’s Tour de France Femmes has also changed how she is perceived in the peloton, a shift she admits took time to fully understand.
“My status in the peloton has changed,” she said. “At the World Championships I realised I wasn’t racing like a favourite. I was waiting, but everyone was waiting for me to ride. I didn’t realise that my status had changed. It took me some time to process that.”
Now, however, the French rider feels more comfortable embracing her role as a leader within the team. “Now I feel more like a favourite and a team leader, which gives me more confidence. It’s a good kind of pressure.”
Focus on the race ahead
While Ferrand-Prevot is eager to begin her season, she has deliberately kept her focus away from the constant flow of news and social media that surrounds the sport.
Asked about rising French talent Paul Seixas, who will also race Strade Bianche this weekend, she admitted she has not been closely following the latest headlines.
“Honestly, I haven’t watched television or social media for such a long time that I don’t really know what’s happening in the world,” she said. “I prefer doing other things and being present in the moment rather than spending so much time on my phone.”
For now, the focus is simply on returning to competition. And after months of training, the reigning Tour champion is eager to see how her preparation translates once the racing begins again on the white roads of Tuscany.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- for what?frieders311-11-2026
- Blah blah blah!frieders311-11-2026
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- I had no idea about that either.
santiagobenites10-11-2026 - great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
- I think some are making much ado about nothing. Even though Jonas is getting older, before his crash in the Tour, he looked like a solid 2nd all the way home. No one can really climb with Tadej until this year, Eric Mas showed himself which I think was a one off year for him and Paul Seixas has been able to be pretty close to him. Whatever stage race Jonas enters as long as Tadej is not there he is a favorite to win.awp10-11-2026
- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
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