Pauline Ferrand-Prévot was in tears as he waited to be awarded the gold medal after the women’s mountain bike race. She has won so much but Olympic success had always eluded her in three previous Games. Now, in her final mountain bike race at the Paris Olympics, she struck gold in front of thousands of cheering French fans.
“I’ve worked so hard for today. I felt amazing today. I can’t believe it!” she said after waving to the crowd and hugging her family.
“I thought ‘it’s not possible, it’s not possible, it’s not me, it’s a dream.”
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But it was all true. ‘PFP’ produced a perfect ride on the twisting course on Élancourt Hill, to the southwest of Paris. She was untouchable and then controlled her ride, opting to use a lighter Pinarello HardTail bike than full suspension for the fast but often slippery gravel surface.
Ferrand-Prévot was cheered loudly as she lined up at the front of the 36-rider grid and was soon at the front of the race. On the second lap, she surged away up the hardest incline and was never seen again. She had a 30-second gap on Puck Pieterse with five laps to race. When the Dutch women punctured and had a slow wheel change on lap five of seven, Ferrand-Prévot was over a minute clear. When she reached the finish in triumph her winning margin had grown to 2:57 on the USA’s Haley Batten and 3:02 on third-placed Jenny Rissveds of Sweden, who won gold in Rio in 2016. Pieterse tried to fight back from her puncture but finished fourth at 3:23.
Ferrand-Prévot had created a protective bubble in recent months and worked with a mental coach to manage the pressure and expectations. She cut herself off from the outside world and especially the French media to focus on her racing.
She arrived in Paris ready to race for that elusive gold medal. So did the crowds, who sang her name all day, banged the finish barriers and cheered her as she won alone.
She admitted she barely noticed the crowds, such was her focus on racing and winning.
“Tom Pidcock messaged my coach and said, 'Pauline has to take this race as if it’s a normal race'. So I said, 'Okay I will race as if it’s just a World Cup race',” she explained.
“I wanted to stay on the wheels on the first lap to see how I was feeling and then try to push hard to make them suffer. I soon saw I was quite strong, so I didn’t wait too long. After one lap I said, 'Now I try at my own pace'.
“I didn’t hear my coach or even see my family along the route, I was so focused. I didn’t care about what was happening behind me. I was selfish and focused on myself.”
Ferrand-Prévot announced she will end her mountain bike career after this year to focus on road racing in 2025. Her Olympic gold will not make her change her mind. At 32, she is ready for the next and perhaps final chapter of her cycling career.
She has raced for Ineos Grenadiers in recent years but the British team does not have a women’s road team, meaning she cannot complete her aim of riding the Tour de France Femmes. Several informed sources have confirmed to Cyclingnews that she will ride for Visma-Lease a Bike in 2025.
“I’ve decided to quit mountain biking at the end of the year and that won’t change even with a gold medal, I would have stopped anyway,” she said.
“I wanted to prepare carefully for these Olympics but also needed to know what would happen afterwards. My future plans for road racing will be official in the second week of August.
“I have a nice project that will help me prepare and target the Tour de France for the next few years. I’ve now won Olympic gold but I still have a few goals.”
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