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Relieved by the announcement that the 2020 Tokyo Olympics have been postponed until next year, Pauline Ferrand-Prevot talks about her lockdown. The need to set a daily training goal: indoor trainer, TRX, spa… And a huge puzzle to work on patience!
Source: C.P. / Photo credits: Boris Beyer/Red Bull Content Pool, Bartek Wolinski/Red Bull Content Pool and PFP Collection
Hello Pauline! Topical question: how is the lockdown going?
“I’m doing like everyone else, I’m trying to be patient. There are inevitably less easy moments, when the situation weighs a little more, but I am also largely aware that many people are experiencing it much harder, in apartments, in the city, so I refuse to complain… but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel the difficulty, especially since I’m not the most patient person! I’m just trying to turn this period into an opportunity to explore new avenues and I’m forcing myself to maintain a certain framework. It would be so easy to let myself go!
“What I miss most are family moments, so we organize Skype aperitifs and meals, just to get together despite everything!”
So it’s not a holiday?
No, not at all! I make sure I have a training goal every day. Of course, I don’t do three-hour indoor trainer sessions – that would be far too tedious! – and I also don’t like the “connected” aspect of some apps, and prefer to do things my own way. So I do more TRX and core work than I would at this time of year. And then I’ve resumed “real” intensities, with 1 minute 20 blocks at full throttle on the bike. And the tests are really very good. In any case, at some point, the competition will resume, and we’ll have to be ready, because it’s going to start again at full speed. So I’m finishing my March intensity block, then, in agreement with Barry, my coach, we’ll lighten up a bit… but not too much either!
Precisely, the postponement of the Olympics to 2021, the cancellation of the World Championships in Albstadt… how do you feel about these announcements?
The announcement of the Games’ postponement was a real relief, actually! It really freed me, as if a weight had fallen off my shoulders! Because the hardest part was not knowing where we were going. And then, with Spain, we are the only country where athletes are confined, so I didn’t see how to guarantee fair preparation under these conditions and I admit that it made me uncomfortable to approach the Games like that. For the World Championships, I expected it a bit, of course, but there are still uncertainties: postponement elsewhere? outright cancellation this year? a completely blank year? There are inevitably many grey areas, which depend on the health situation. And until it returns completely to normal and allows the organization of large-scale global events, there is undoubtedly still a good amount of time that will pass…”
