Pauline Ferrand-Prévot will miss the European Championships road race due to illness

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot will miss the European Championships road race set to take place on Saturday due to a gastrointestinal illness that has been affecting her since the World Championships in Rwanda.

At the Worlds, the French star was one of the main favourites to take the rainbow jersey, but she was far from that after a conservative race in which the main contenders cancelled each other. Ferrand-Prévot could only finish 16th, 1:50 behind the winner Magdeleine Vallieres.

"Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and Maeva Squiban have shown signs of infection. Unfortunately, they will not be able to take part in the European Championships this weekend," the French Cycling Federation announced in an succinct statement on social media.

They are two important losses for the French squad, which will not be able to count on their leader Ferrand-Prévot, who had strong chances of beating other top favorites such as Marlen Reusser, Demi Vollering, or Anna van der Breggen, nor on Maeva Squiban, a top-class domestique who has already shown her great talent by winning two stages in the Tour de France.

It is most likely the end of the season for Ferrand-Prévot, at least the road one. Despite this setback, it has been a very successful year for her, coming back to the peloton after a 7-year hiatus and winning Paris-Roubaix and the Tour de France Femmes.