Pauline Ferrand-Prevot enters the women's mountain bike cross-country at the Tokyo Olympics as one of the medal contenders: gold at the Olympics.

"I am going for the gold medal. It is the only medal I lack and I tend to want what I don't have and fight for it. I want to win," Ferrand-Prevot told Cyclism'actu.

The 29-year-old has excelled in cyclocross, road, and mountain biking, becoming the only rider in history to hold elite world titles in all three disciplines: road (2014), cyclocross and mountain biking (both 2015).

However, the physical and mental pressure of achieving this feat took its toll, and came at the worst possible time in her preparation for the 2016 Rio Olympics.

She said in 2016 that she returned too soon from an off-season stress fracture and subsequently suffered from sciatica. She pushed on anyway to focus on both events in Rio, but the results were disastrous. She finished 24th in the road race and abandoned MTB.

"These Olympics were the result of a year of hell."

"Cycling was my favorite thing to do, but it turned out to be my biggest nightmare.

In the years after Rio de Janeiro, she continued to focus on road and mountain biking, but in 2018 she was diagnosed with double iliac artery intimal fibrosis and had surgery in February 2019 and again in January 2020. After the Olympics were postponed from 2020 to 2021, Ferrand-Prevot left Canyon-SRAM and signed with Absolute Absalon-BMC, setting his sights on Tokyo.

Then in 2021, Ferrand-Prevot once again went to the Olympics as world champion.

"From my previous Olympic experience, I learned that one who chases two hares will never catch a rabbit. So I focused on mountain biking to avoid spreading myself too thin.

Ferrand-Prevot's main obstacle to gold will be teammate Roana Lecomte, who has dominated the World Cup races this season.

In an Instagram post, Ferrand-Prevot denied any rivalry with her teammate.

"I am happy and lucky to share this week with Roana. Some would say we are rivals for tomorrow, but I would rather say we are teammates. She has helped me reach and surpass my best level over the past few months. It has allowed me to overcome my weaknesses without resting on my laurels.

"I have always admired "hard workers." Rollo is one of them. So, great luck for tomorrow, and may the best win," Ferran-Prevot wrote.