Pauline Ferrand-Prévot is returning to the road full time, but it is clear that the road to her high ambitions will be a long and difficult one. In the queen stage of the women's UAE Tour the French legend struggled, and finished only 18th, 3:39 minutes from stage winner Elisa Longo Borghini.
"Of course, it’s unfortunate that Pauline couldn’t achieve a top result, but if you think about it, it makes sense," team DS Jos van Emden shared in a press release from Team Visma | Lease a Bike. "Over the past few days, she’s done great work for the team and has looked strong multiple times. Even today, she was riding at the front for a long time."
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The 2014 World Champion has not raced a full-time schedule on the road since back in 2018, and after her return to Visma, she's made it clear that her priority now lies in this discipline - after she achieved virtually everything in Mountain Biking. The French rider, 32 years of age, is making a much awaited comeback as is for example Anna van der Breggen with SD Worx, and her evolution is an exciting prospect for the Dutch team who ultimately hope to have a Tour de France Femmes victory contender (specially one from France).
But at the UAE Tour, it's obvious that her level is still distant from the top climbers. She held her own in the wind-blasted first days of the race, but was dropped early on the climb to Jebel Hafeet this Saturday. "It’s disappointing that things didn’t go as hoped on the final climb, but we shouldn’t expect too much either—it’s only her first race," van Emden reassured.
She is en route to finishing 17th in the overall classification, but the team is not looking to put too much pressure on her, specially this early on in her comeback year. "We have two fast riders here, so tomorrow is another opportunity. We’ll see how everyone has recovered and then make a plan. In the first stage, we already sprinted to third place with Nienke Veenhoven, and we hope to fight for another strong result tomorrow," the Dutchman concluded.
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Pauline Ferrand-Prevot is not yet in Tour de France Femmes winning shape. Dropped from the peloton with 6 km to go. #UAETourWomen pic.twitter.com/R0vKo4uqOX
— Mihai Simion (@faustocoppi60) February 8, 2025
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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