Silvia Persico excited to face off against Pauline Ferrand-Prévot for the first time

The Italian national champion, Silvia Persico has been speaking about her excitement at going toe-to-toe with France's 2015 Cyclocross World Champion, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot for the very first time in their respective careers, potentially at the Gran Premio Val Fontanabuona, on November 26th.

With Persico set to make her 2022/23 season debut on home soil at the end of November, she expressed a desire to test herself against one of INEOS Grenadiers' latest signings. "Pauline is the strongest, she is really strong in gravel and mountain bike, and she was so strong also on the road, so I think that she can be a tough rival to fight. I’m happy to race with her because I never raced with her before. I hope to fight with her for this cyclocross season,”

Ferrand-Prévot has only recently returned to the Cyclocross fold after focusing more on gravel and mountain bike in recent years. Both Persico and Ferrand-Prévot could both have their hands full this season as they aim to stop the dominant Fem van Empel.

Persico was full of praise when discussing the 20-year-old Dutchwoman, “My God, she’s really strong,” Persico said. “I raced with her in the last years, and I think in the last months she’s stepped so much. She’s super young, but I like how she races, because, for me, she has a good head and she’s also good at finding the right moment to attack. I like her as a cyclist.”