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Two days ago, the news broke: Pauline Ferrand-Prévôt will be at the start of the upcoming World Championships in Rwanda. Just one month after the announcement, two months after her triumph at the Tour de France Femmes, and on the eve of what promises to be the most demanding World Championships in history, the question arises: how to maintain such a state of form, and above all, how to maintain this weight that has caused so much discussion?
By Jeff Tatard – Photos: Tornati CC/Prologo / Instagram Pauline Ferrand-Prevot
Because behind the exploit, there is the debate. By choosing to refine her body by a few kilos to maximize her power-to-weight ratio, PFP adopted a strategy, supervised, that paid off. But as she approaches Rwanda and its endless climbs, everyone is wondering:
• Will she maintain this “Tour” weight?
• Will she necessarily regain weight to recover better before potentially losing it again?
• Is it even realistic to imagine that an athlete of this level can stay “on the edge” for two months, without it having a physiological and mental cost?
A Fine Line
Thinness in cycling is not a new subject. Climbers have always played with this limit: finding the ideal weight, where the body carries no extra gram, but where it retains all its strength. It’s a ridge line. And as often in high mountains, one misstep and the fall can be brutal: loss of power, chronic fatigue, injuries, eating disorders.
What Pauline Ferrand-Prévôt is experiencing today is the maximum exposure of this dilemma. She found her key for the Tour. But the danger is to believe that this weight must become the permanent norm. However, the ideal racing weight is not a figure set in stone: it varies according to the season, objectives, and the athlete’s overall balance.
Rwanda, an ultimate test
The 2025 World Championships course, as we wrote a year ago after Pogacar’s coronation: it will undoubtedly be the hardest World Championships in history. Steep African slopes, a grueling climate, extreme intensity. Here again, you don’t win just by shedding grams: you win with preserved freshness, optimal recovery, and intact mental resilience.
So, what will happen?
In the short term, it is likely that PFP will have to ease off a bit, regain some weight, then adjust again for Rwanda. This cycle is normal, almost necessary. But the main thing is not to know how much she will weigh on the scale on the morning of the World Championships. The main thing is to know if she will be able to combine power, freshness, and confidence — because the body is only a tool at the service of the mind.
The real issue: the message
Beyond the champion, it’s the message that counts. Cycling has too often fostered a fascination with thinness, as if it were the sole condition for success. However, it’s not being thin that makes you win: it’s being strong, balanced, whole.
PFP’s victory at the Tour will remain historic. But if her triumph in Rwanda were to happen, let’s hope it is interpreted differently: not as an apology for an extremely lean body, but as a demonstration of rare intelligence, a sense of preparation, and an ability to play with her resources without ever burning out.
Because ultimately, that’s the true secret of champions: not weighing less, but knowing how to weigh their choices.
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