Pauline Ferrand-Prévot made an ambitious move ahead of the 2025 season, putting her overly successful mountain bike career on hold. Instead, she committed to road racing for next three seasons with a clear goal in mind: to win the Tour de France Femmes with Visma | Lease a Bike. With her tremendous talent, it certainly wasn't impossible. But coming back to road racing after seven years, there were little expectations from her debut season. And it definitely didn't seem likely she would go on to immediately fulfill her goal on first attempt.
"I learned a lot last year," Ferrand-Prevot said on the Inside the Beehive podcast.
In what was meant as a learning year for the Frenchwoman coming back to road racing after nearly a decade turned out to be a season where she won Paris-Roubaix and later the Tour de France - her major goal with this road comeback. And Ferrand-Prevot promises that she's only getting started:
"I feel that next year will be excellent for me because I learned so much last year that I now know what I need to do, and I can simply put what I learned last year into practice."
Time to complete the collection
Since the former world champion (2014) has already ticked off her biggest goal, Ferrand-Prevot can now take a closer look at some other interesting races she would like to win during her next two seasons with Visma | Lease a Bike.
"I want to try to win the Tour of Flanders and Liège," she lists two races that are high up on her bucket list.
Despite those big results, Ferrand-Prévot ranked only 13th on the yearly UCI ranking. That was mainly down to her fluctuating level at some points of the year. Improving in that aspect will be another of her objectives: "I also sincerely believe that I can be more consistent throughout the season. I would like to win more classic races, and I also want to try to win the Tour de France again and become world champion next year," she concludes.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Nothing revelatory or controversial. Why do we have to report on Bruyneel's or Armstrong's thinking. It's a shame and enough that the Move's on TV and that people watch it .flyer14-11-2026
- Makes sense that training from home is a big asset or advantage but it's still remarkable that he can put in three quality majors and not pay some heavy price for the exertion. I wish he would have won that tour stage that his crash while leading allowed Carapaz the win. He's a darn good rider and teammate.flyer14-11-2026
- Sounds like we all agree with the over under exaggeration: "The German’s signing does not guarantee that Evenepoel will win the Tour in 2027. "flyer14-11-2026
- Seixas appears to be that good but if he isn't (an absolute rival to Pogacar) he would have plenty of company in rising stars that did not go on to fully meet the expectations of many. That Pogacar wasn't the greatest (as great) sooner can't be transposed onto another's development. It may be not that simple.flyer14-11-2026
- I agree that, for Evenepoel, the Euro championship is overshadowed by the slightly off Lombardia and Worlds. However, I disagree that "Ciccone also made a serious mistake at the European Championships" because I don't think he had a win in the bag although he could have won with a perfect bike throw. Guesswork about the finish is not evidence by me for some serious mistake. Sometimes you just barely lose - although Ciccone's sourpuss about it persona was serious.flyer14-11-2026
- I bet you photobombed the video since you are his shadow!frieders314-11-2026
- Skipping the 2027 TDF would be fine in my opinion, and if so, it further reveals that him racing it in 2026 was a good decision. Seixas speaks confident, almost cocky, these days (not meant to be a criticism) and I find it a tad humorous that people (rather commentators) continually chide and advise on how Decathlon should direct and manage Seixas when Paul seems to be calling all his shots since well before this year's TDF.flyer14-11-2026
- Well I just watched this and I thought it was great! If you’re a Pogi fan, like me, you’ll enjoy it. Even if you’re not necessarily a Pogi fan I still recommend it. There’s plenty of new stuff I didn’t know about and I’m a Pogi-maniac! Nice interviews with Pogi & Matteo Trentin too.Lozza14-11-2026
- Well I just watched this and I thought it was great! If you’re a Pogi fan, like me, you’ll enjoy it. Even if you’re not necessarily a Pogi fan I still recommend it. There’s plenty of new stuff I didn’t know about and I’m a Pogi-maniac! Nice interviews with Pogi & Matteo Trentin too. So Zonnewotsit can stick it!Lozza14-11-2026
- Who’s gifting grand tours at UAE? Defo not Pogi! Stage wins maybe.Lozza13-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment