Pauline Ferrand-Prévot

A chameleon who changes terrain like she changes jerseys 🦎

Some athletes choose one discipline to build a career. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot refused to choose. Born into a family where cycling is a religion, the Reims native hopped on her first bicycle at a very young age and quickly showed a gift for the handlebars 🚵 .

In 2014, at 22 years old, she became road world champion in Ponferrada. What followed looked like a clean sweep. During the 2014-2015 season, she carried all three rainbow jerseys on her shoulders: road, cyclo-cross (in Tábor, in 2015) and cross-country mountain biking (2015). An unprecedented feat in the history of her sport.

Gravel gave her one more title: in 2022, she became the first world champion of the discipline, in Veneto. Career tally: 15 elite world champion titles. More than a wardrobe, a walk-in closet.

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot grabs the Holy Grail on home soil 🥇

Despite a well-stocked trophy cabinet, one piece was missing: Olympic glory. The appointments fell short. London in 2012: 8th on the road. Rio in 2016: 26th on the road and a DNF in mountain biking. Tokyo in 2021: 10th in mountain biking, between a fall and a puncture just as she was climbing back to 2nd place.

Three years later, it all came together at home. On July 28, 2024, pushed on by the French crowd 🇫🇷 , she went solo on the hill of Élancourt and took Olympic gold in cross-country mountain biking at the Paris 2024 Games. The Holy Grail, at last. A steel mindset used to never letting go.

Back on the road: cobbles, yellow jersey and a bigger gear 🚴

Carried by this feat, the Champagne native returned to the road with the Visma-Lease a Bike team. First test: Paris-Roubaix Femmes, on April 12, 2025. She dominated the Hell of the North 🪨 and claimed her first road victory since 2015.

The summer followed the same script. At the Tour de France Femmes, she attacked on the Col de la Madeleine during stage 8 (August 2), won at Saint-François-Longchamp and took the yellow jersey 💛. The next day, she did it again solo in Châtel, in Haute-Savoie, after the Col de Joux Plane. Verdict: overall victory in 29h54'24", with a 3'42" lead over Demi Vollering. The 2025 Vélo d'Or crowned the year.

2026 handed out fewer smiles. 2nd at the Tour of Flanders 🥈, then 3rd at Paris-Roubaix Femmes on April 12, 6 seconds behind the winner, Franziska Koch. In August, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot stalled in the time trial and then on Mont Ventoux. 14th at 14'37" behind Kasia Niewiadoma, and ill 🤒, she did not start stage 8.

Nothing to knock her out of the race. PFP wants to come back stronger and turn every obstacle into a springboard. Want to ride in her tracks? Discover the Paris-Roubaix Challenge or L'Étape du Tour de France Femmes by Zwift, cross a few legendary mountain passes, then book your bib 🏁 .