"I think I did everything on MTB and it doesn't make sense to continue to me" - Pauline Ferrand-Prévot announces 100% focus on road from 2025 onwards
Mountain Bike
The reigning XCO world champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot has revealed that she will retire from mountain biking at the end of the year, with the 32-year-old keen to make a return to the Women's WorldTour and ride the Tour de France Femmes next season.
The 32-year-old had just won the XCO World Cup race in Nove Mesto, her first World Cup win of 2024, when she brought up the news about her re-focus on road in a post-race interview.
It's a rumour that has been around for some time now that the French multi-discipline star would like to make a comeback on the road, where she already has impressive palmares. Ferrand-Prévot is a world champion from Ponferrada ten years ago and has won La Fleche Wallonne and finished runner-up at Giro d'Italia Women in 2014 - her best road season.
"I mean, this is my last chance to try to be Olympic champion so I don't want to miss it," she confirmed to Eurosport after Nove Mesto. "Because it will be for sure my last year also on MTB so I want to do everything to be good this year and to try to win the Olympics at home."
To four-time World champion Ferrand-Prévot, the olympic gold means everything and even more now that she gets the opportunity to compete in front of her home crowds. Her last try in Tokyo 2021 didn't go according to what the World champion at the time had imagined as she crossed the line in the depth of the result sheet in 10th place.
"I think I did everything on MTB and I still like it but it doesn't make sense to continue more and also it's my last chance to be Olympic champion at home, so it's good to finish on it," she said.
If Ferrand-Prévot was to make the call, she would have liked to link her next road chapter with her current employer INEOS Grenadiers, however her agency SEG is open to offers from outside as it is still unclear whether the British team is actually planning to take necessary steps to set up the Women's team around Ferrand-Prévot for 2025.
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.
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