Pauline Ferrand-Prevot to retire from mountain biking after 2024 Paris Olympic Games, eyes gold medal in final tussle
By Joe Curran
Published 29/05/2024 at 14:24 GMT+1
Ineos Grenadiers rider Pauline Ferrand-Prevot has set her sights on winning a gold medal at her first and last Olympic Games on home soil after she announced her plan to retire from mountain biking at the end of 2024, explaining how she's done "everything" in the sport. Once the Paris Games are over, the 32-year-old is hoping to return to the Women's WorldTour and ride the Tour de France Femmes.
'Wins in a canter' - Ferrand-Prevot in league of her own at Nove Mesto Mountain Bike World Cup
Video credit: TNT Sports
French rider Pauline Ferrand-Prevot has revealed she will retire from mountain biking following the conclusion of the Olympic Games in Paris this year.
The reigning world XCO champion confirmed the news to Eurosport after she won her first UCI XCO World Cup of the season in Nove Mesto, where she topped the podium ahead of Haley Batten and Alessandra Keller in second and third, respectively.
Explaining her decision to exit the cross-country category of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, Ferrand-Prevot pointed to her ambitions to claim the gold medal as a fitting conclusion to her MTB career that has seen her win five World XC Championships.
"This is my last chance to try and be Olympic champion - so I don't want to miss it," said Ferrand-Prevot, who has competed in the last three Olympics but achieved her best result in the road race (eighth) at the 2012 Olympic Games.
The multi-discipline racer went into the Tokyo Olympics with high hopes, but she had to settle for 10th-place overall after suffering a puncture on the third lap of the Izu MTB Course.
Now Ferrand-Prevot is aiming to bow out on a high in Paris.
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"I want to do everything to be good this year and try to win the Olympics at home," she explained. "Because it will for sure be my last year on the MTB.
"You know, I think I did everything in mountain bike and I still like it, but it doesn't make sense to go more. And this is my last chance to be Olympic champion at home so it's good to finish on it."
With a huge list of titles to her name across cyclo-cross, gravel, road and the mountain bike disciplines of cycling, Ferrand-Prevot is adamant she still wants one more accolade before returning to road racing, stating: "Olympic gold is the only medal missing from my list, and it's the one I want the most."
The French rider's decision to move away from MTB will spark rumours about which team she will represent when she returns to road racing.
She last raced consistently on the road in 2018 for Canyon-SRAM, and the 32-year-old is likely to depart Ineos Grenadiers when her MTB season concludes.
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'It's not only about one rider... but maybe 10!' - Ferrand-Prevot on 'exciting' MTB battles
Video credit: TNT Sports
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