Pauline Ferrand-Prévot Reverses Decision to Skip UCI Road World Championships in Rwanda

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, the winner of the Tour de France-Women, has announced that she will participate in the upcoming UCI Road World Championships in Rwanda after initially planning to skip the event.

The 33-year-old, whose performance during the premier event of women’s cycling was simply dominant, revealed that she originally intended to sit out the championships to recover physically and mentally from the tour and the demanding Olympic cycle that preceded her return to road racing.

“I tried to find a good balance between making the most of the opportunities available to me and maintaining a healthy lifestyle as a professional athlete, which is essential for me,” Ferrand-Prévot stated.

She added, “I didn’t want to ask my body, already tired, or my mind, at 80%, to push further.”

However, Ferrand-Prévot noted that this season’s circumstances are very different from last year. With fewer races on her schedule and less pressure surrounding the Tour de France compared to the Olympics, she feels strong and motivated to compete.

“I am ready to continue giving my best, in a smart and thoughtful way,” she said. After discussions with her commercial team and the French national team, she confirmed she will race in Rwanda, describing it as an honor to compete alongside her teammates against the world’s best.

Ferrand-Prévot is one of the greatest athletes ever in cycling. The French athlete already holds 12 UCI Elite World Championship titles (15 including team events) across road, cyclocross, gravel, and mountain bike disciplines. She is also the reigning Olympic Cross-Country MTB champion and, in August, won the Tour de France Femmes with Zwift.

Despite an already overflowing trophy cabinet, Ferrand-Prévot is eager to chase another world crown.

“We will do our best in the pursuit of the rainbow jersey,” she said, jokingly calling herself the “world champion of changing plans.”

Ferrand-Prévot previously won the elite road world championship in 2014. It was the first of three world titles she secured within 12 months, donning the rainbow jersey in road cycling, cyclocross, and mountain biking cross-country simultaneously.

The UCI Road World Championships will take place from September 21 to 28 in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. This is the first time the event has been hosted on the African continent. Ferrand-Prévot will have a chance to compete for another world title on September 27, when the women’s peloton races a 164.6 km course.