When former cyclo-cross world champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot lines up to race, expectations are high, even if it's been two years since her last competition in the off-road discipline. The Frenchwoman handled the pressure with ease at the weekend, claiming fourth in DVV Verzekeringen Trofee in Essen and victory in Vlaamse Druivencross, both in Belgium.
"When you are there on the start line, and you’ve been former world champion, it doesn't matter if you start in the last line or first line, you know everybody is expecting something from you," Ferrand-Prévot said in a team press release. "Even if it's the first time in two years that you're racing, people are still expecting something. I just tried to push away that pressure."
Ferrand-Prévot previously dominated the road and off-road scenes, winning world titles for the road (2014), cyclo-cross (2015) and mountain bike (2015). She took a step back from off-road disciplines after the Rio Olympics in 2016.
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"I didn't enjoy not racing at all," she said. "But I needed the break. I needed to have time away from the bike after the Olympics, and last winter was a good time to do that. I would have liked to race. But that time away was important."
She gradually introduced mountain biking back into her schedule in February with her road team Canyon-Sram. She ended the season with podiums in both the MTB World Cup and Women’s WorldTour.
She also added cyclo-cross racing to her fall and winter program to help prepare for the 2018 spring classics, particularly Strade Bianche. Since she's earned no points, she must start each race in the back row, and she knows her comeback was an unknown.
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