Pauline Ferrand-Prevot: Ineos star hypes up Paris 2024 mountain bike bid - 'I can be really good at D-Day'

Updated 10/05/2023 at 09:15 GMT

After stepping up on “D-Day” on home soil at the 2022 Mountain Bike World Championships, Pauline Ferrand-Prevot has proved to herself she can deliver when it really matters. The multi-talented French star, who has won 10 rainbow jerseys during a stellar career, has one major medal missing from her bulging palmarès: Olympic gold. In 2024, when the Games descend on Paris, she plans on changing that…

'It's not only about one rider... but maybe 10!' - Ferrand-Prevot on 'exciting' MTB battles

Pauline Ferrand-Prevot is stepping up her hunt for the one major title that eludes her: Olympic gold.

The French star became the first woman to sign for Ineos Grenadiers ahead of the 2023 season in a bid to boost her prospects for Paris 2024. She has won 10 rainbow jerseys throughout a stellar career across mountain bike, road, cyclo-cross and gravel – and will target victory at the Games on home soil next summer on her trusted MTB.

Ferrand-Prevot, speaking at Warner Bros. Discovery's start-of-season cycling launch event, said: “The Olympic title is the only one missing. So for sure I really want to have a gold medal. It's also why I chose to go to the new team.

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“I know I have two years to be the best athlete and to improve again in a few things. It’s the main goal of my career, so I'm already working on it to be better.”

Ferrand-Prevot has won four cross-country world titles – the only MTB discipline in the Olympics – and also boasts two marathon wins. She won three rainbow jerseys in just seven weeks last season – two on the mountain bike in Les Gets, France, plus victory at the inaugural Gravel World Championships in Veneto, Italy.

“Last year with the win in Les Gets, it was a big thing for me because it was in front of my own crowd and it should be the same in Paris next year,” she continued.

“I also proved to myself that I can be really good at D-Day, and I can put everything together to be the best for one and a half hours. So for me it was a very good test last year in Les Gets.”

Despite her haul on the world stage last season, Ferrand-Prevot is targeting more consistency in 2023.

“Last year I was very good for a short period. And this year, I would like to be more consistent and to try to build up my shape for the big goal which is the World Championship,” she said.

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Ferrand-Prevot will compete in the UCI Mountain Bike World Series this year, with the biggest MTB World Cup events uniting to form a bumper new competition.

The series features the biggest disciplines in the sport – cross-country Olympic, cross-country short track, cross-country marathon, downhill, enduro and E-enduro – with the first of 13 meetings taking place in Tasmania last weekend.

Switzerland’s Alessandra Keller will defend her women’s cross-country title this season, although Ferrand-Prevot is anticipating fierce competition across the board.

“What is great with MTB, it's not only about one rider, but maybe 10 riders [who] can win a World Cup. It's so exciting to see,” she said.

“Also with all these young girls from the Netherlands, they are also very promising. So we have to see what they can do in every category.”