It has been a longer off-season than expected for Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, who cut her racing season short to have ankle surgery, and confirmed this week that she is not yet back training as she continues to recover.
Despite winning the Tour de France Femmes in August, Ferrand-Prévot revealed that she had been struggling all season with an ankle injury after crashing in Strade Bianche in March.
After racing the Road World Championships, she was slated to start the Gravel World Championships, but forfeited that to have surgery on October 3.
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Initially, the Frenchwoman was expected to be unable to exercise for three weeks, but in an update posted to Instagram three weeks after the operation, she confirmed that she's still not training, and is likely to be out of action for another three weeks.
"How to go from a high-level sports body to a sedentary one in the space of a few weeks," she joked in her post, accompanied by photos of a fun and friends-filled off-season.
"Three weeks post op, and still 100% off-season. The truth is that I enjoy every moment to the fullest, because I have the chance to visit exceptional places," she said of the holiday time she's spending off the bike.
"But I still struggle with my ankle which is not fully recovered. I get very tired, and there are days I feel weak and sick. According to the surgeon, we still have to be patient for three weeks so that everything will be fine."
She attached a photo of the injured ankle, looking swollen and with a large scar.
She has not been expected to race a cyclocross season this year, but the latest update seems to categorically rule out any appearances in the mud.
Given she won Paris-Roubaix and the Tour de France Femmes, Ferrand-Prévot's injury didn't seem to affect her comeback season too negatively, but needed to be addressed before she heads into her second year of her return to road racing.
The Frenchwoman has already been outlining her goals for 2026, which will naturally include a Tour de France title defence – she's said she needs to "work on the time trial" before that – and another tilt at the spring Classics.
The Road World Championships are another big goal, but she's eyeing the event in 2027, when it will take place in France, more than next season's Worlds in Montréal. She has also pointed out her lack of desire to race for racing's sake, and is expected to have another programme of targeted, purposeful races.
Before any of that, though, she faces this recovery from injury and then the return to training ahead of the season restarting. Though she might not kick off her season in January, the Spring Classics start as early as the start of March.
Ferrand-Prévot doesn't seem swayed by the setback, but conceded that she has a tough way back to her best.
"Mentally I’m doing great, it’s also super cool spending time with Dylan [van Baarle, her partner], his family, my friends and soon-to-be family," she said. "But recovery sure is gonna hurt."
