Pauline Ferrand-Prévot: “Already in great shape and really motivated” for 2021

Between a training camp and regeneration, road cycling and intensity work, before a very small operation and a well-deserved break to catch her breath for the end-of-year holidays, Pauline Ferrand-Prevot takes stock of her off-season. “Already in great shape and really motivated,” the Frenchwoman believes she is on schedule and continues her linear progression towards 2021.

Source: PFP News – Photo credits: ©RedBull Contents/Bartek Wolinsky

After your victory at the World and European Championships, we quickly saw you back on a bike. No break this year?

I’m organizing myself differently. In past years, as the seasons were very long, I generally felt a real need to take a break and go away, but now, with this very particular year, cut short due to the health crisis, it’s different. I wanted to get back on the bike, back to training, so there’s no reason to deprive myself of it.

And how do you feel?

Already in great shape and really motivated! I know I’m not behind, quite the opposite! I’ve already found a good level and I’m on a fairly linear progression path. In fact, I feel like I haven’t reached my top level, because in all previous years, I was often injured or had surgery or was in cyclocross season during the winter, so until now, I had never been able to do the intensity work I’m doing now. Here, I’ve done more road cycling and I feel a lot of physical improvements, that I’m gaining watts. And then, I prefer to put in a big effort now and enjoy the end-of-year holidays a little more calmly, which I will spend in the Vosges… where I can work on my technique.

In the end, was this second lockdown less difficult to live through than the first?

Yes, clearly, because high-level athletes benefited from a derogation allowing them to continue their training. It’s a chance, I’m well aware of it, so I shared as many images of my rides on my social networks as possible, because it was also a way for me to give a breath of fresh air to the people who follow me and who might have been experiencing a stricter lockdown. And to be honest, I couldn’t imagine doing such a huge indoor trainer session at home again! On the contrary, I took the opportunity to go on a preparation and regeneration trip to the mountains, to try other different but complementary things, before having an operation – it’s a very small intervention – to fully recover from my broken nose last year in Tokyo, which had left a displacement of my nasal septum, even minimal, but whose repair could promote better oxygenation. So, I’m putting all this in place and I really hope to be able to make the most of this preparation season.

IN THE STARTING BLOCKS

“No races in December. The month will mainly be marked by the holiday break, which we will spend in the Vosges, and some important media visits to Paris. Then, it will be time to start a new year…”

Who is Barry Austin, Pauline Ferrand-Prevot’s coach?

Pauline’s coach for two seasons, Barry Austin also holds a special place in her entourage. “He was the coach of the Canyon-Sram team; he wasn’t specifically training me at the time, because I was working with Gérard Brocks, but it clicked right away, because he’s a very psychologically astute person. He even defended me to explain that because of my injury, I wasn’t able to participate in the Giro, contrary to the team’s wishes. So after he left, I took him on as my personal coach. However, his training sessions are really very hard – I sometimes hate him during certain sessions (laughs)! “

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