Following her victory in the women's road race in Ponferrada last year, Pauline Ferrand-Prevot didn't get to fully enjoy racing in the rainbow jersey during the 2015 season, saying that she wasn't quite prepared to handle the pressure of racing as the world champion. The French star told Cyclingnews on the eve of World Championships in Richmond, however, that she would relish in a second opportunity to wear the rainbow jersey.
"Yes, of course, yes," said Ferrand-Prevot when Cyclingnews asked if she felt confident she could win the women's road race again. "At the beginning of the year it was complicated for me because there was a lot of pressure with this jersey. During the races when attacking everyone wanted to be on my wheel. It was a little bit hard for me to understand.
"After the Giro Rosa stage that I won, for me, it was like I forgot about the pressure and I did what I wanted. Now I accept this rainbow jersey and I want to keep it for another year."
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Ferrand-Prevot spent little time racing on the road this year but had strong performances at the World Cup in Italy where she placed second to Lizzie Armitstead. She also took four top-10 finishes in stages at the Elsy Jacobs and placed fifth overall. She went on to win the French road title and then competed in the Giro Rosa where she won stage 5 to Aprica and helped her Rabo-Liv teammate Anna Van der Breggen to win the overall title. Her last big race on the road was the GP de Plouay World Cup where she took third.
Ferrand-Prevot has typically mixed her season with various other cycling disciplines and this year was no different. She put some of her focus on mountain biking and captured another world title while racing in Vallnord, Andorra, at the beginning of September. It was her third world title after already winning the cyclo-cross title in Tabor at the end of January, and the road Worlds last fall.
"My first goal this year was to be the world champion in mountain biking and I did it," Ferrand-Prevot said. "I was also really motivated to train for the World Championships on the road and try to keep my world title.
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