Pauline Ferrand-Prevot's decision to retire from a brilliant off-road career and leave Ineos Grenadier to return to road racing with Vima Lease-a-Bike was one of the most talked about transitions of the year. The world and Olympic mountain bike champion expressed her desire to win the Tour de France Femme in the next chapter of her career as the driving force behind this decision. Cycling News spoke with Marianne Vos, who will be Ferran-Prevot's teammate, and Rutger Theisen, manager of Wisma-Ries, about her prospects on the WorldTour. 'It's great to have her back on the team. It's been quite a while since I raced with her. First of all, it was already exciting to have her back in road cycling, but to be next to her in the team is great," Vos said at the Luxor Theater in Rotterdam the night before the event. [She's] a phenomenon in the sport and it's an exciting journey. It's a big challenge for her. I think all of us are looking forward to seeing what she can do when she switches back to road biking after winning the Olympic gold medal."

Ferrand-Prevot and Vos were former Rabobank teammates from 2012-2016. The French rider made history in the 2014-2015 season by becoming the first 23-year-old cyclist to win world titles in three disciplines simultaneously. She won the elite women's road race world title in Ponferrada in 2014, the XCO cross-country world title in Vallnord in 2015, and the cyclo-cross world title in Tabor in 2015.

Ferrand-Prevot then joined Canyon-SRAM from 2017 until the end of 2020. However, she has not raced a full road season since 2018, except for the French Road Championships in 2019 and 2021. During that time, she underwent two surgeries to treat iliac artery endometriosis.

Following her successful return to mountain biking, she later stated that her top priority was to win gold in the mountain bike cross-country event at the Paris Olympics, which she achieved on July 28 on the hills of Elancourt.

Now that the Games are over, the cycling world's attention will switch to the Tour de France Femme, the race that will likely be the focus of Ferrand-Prevot's season next year.

So far, Vos has achieved results in the Tour of France for his company, Visma Lease-a-Bike. The Dutch rider, who has competed in both editions of the Tour de France Femme, won two stages, wore the yellow jersey on five stages, and took the green jersey in the historic return of the women's race in 2022.

Asked if she thought Ferrand-Prevot could win the yellow jersey in the future, Vos replied, "It's a big change from mountain biking now, but she knows herself and she knows what she is capable of."

"Of course, she has had great results in road racing in the past. Of course, we'll have to see what it brings for her."

Ferrand

Ferrand-Prevot, who begins a three-year contract with Visma Lease-a-Bike on January 1, 2025, is no stranger to stage races, She has had ample success at the Grand Tour level. She finished second overall behind Vos in the 2014 Giro d'Italia women's race and sixth overall in the 2015 event.

Thyssen believes Ferrand-Prevot has what it takes to win races like the Tour de France women, but she will again need time to adapt to the special training demands of stage racing at the highest level.

"The transition from full-time mountain biker to full-time GC contender needs time. It definitely takes time; whether it takes a year, two years, three years, I don't know. I believe she can be a top contender," Thiessen said.

"Her mentality and approach to elite sports will bring something to the team. She knows how to peak and she knows what it takes to focus on one goal. That's something she brings to the team as a personality, not as a tutor."

Ferran-Prevot said she chose Visma Lease-a-Bike because of the way the team works and its professional approach. Thyssen said she did not know if other World Tour teams had made her an offer, but she believes that Visma Lease-a-Bike's high-performance program gave them an advantage over other teams.

"Pauline had to make the decision and she definitely chose this team because of the performance environment we created. It also amplifies the fact that the women's team is getting closer and closer to the men's team and the way they approach performance. She chose this team not because Marianne is on the team, but because of the overall plan behind this program. But she is also excited to be racing with Marianne," Thiessen said. [Honestly, you are more than welcome to work with us, but we are not going to negotiate or bargain. You choose our program and we will pay you a fair price.

"If you truly believe we can improve your performance, you are in the right place. If you have doubts and choose another team for different reasons, then I hope you have a good career elsewhere. I don't know if I would have had to fight another team. I spoke with Pauline last December and presented our plan, she spoke with others as well and made a decision based on the performance plan."[6

Ferran-Prevot will race with Visma Lease-a-Bike until the end of 2027, but it is too early for Theisen to draw up a race schedule for her first year back on the road in 2025. He believes she will fit in well with a team of 15 riders.

"She'll be fine," Theisen said. 'She knows what she chose. She knows what she chose to do. She has teammates that take care of her, but she also has to take care of her teammates.

"It goes both ways. If she takes care of her teammates, they will go the extra two steps to help her. We will see, but if there is a plan, a good structure, and everyone is following that plan, I don't see any problem."

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