'World champion of changing plans' - Pauline Ferrand-Prévot reverses decision, will race World Championships in Rwanda

Tour de France Femmes winner Pauline Ferrand-Prévot has announced that she will take part in the upcoming UCI Road World Championships in Rwanda after all.

The 33-year-old, who’s performance at women’s cycling’s biggest event was nothing short of dominant, revealed that she originally intended to skip the World Championships in order to recover both physically and mentally from the Tour as well as the demanding Olympic cycle that preceded her return to road racing.

“I’ve been trying to find a good balance between making the most of all the opportunities available to me and maintaining my healthy lifestyle as a professional athlete, which is essential for me,” Ferrand-Prévot said.

“I didn’t want to ask my body, already fatigued, or my mind, at 80%, to push through again.”

However, Ferrand-Prévot noted that the circumstances this season are very different from last year. With fewer races on her schedule and less pressure surrounding the Tour de France compared to the Olympic Games, she says she feels strong and motivated to compete.

“I’m ready to keep giving the best of myself, in a smart and thoughtful way,” she said. After discussions with her trade team and the French national squad, she confirmed she will line up in Rwanda, describing it as an honour to race alongside her teammates against the world’s elite.

Ferrand-Prévot is one of the greatest athletes the sport of cycling has ever seen. The Française already holds 12 UCI Elite World Championship titles (15 if you include team events) across road, cyclocross, gravel and mountain bike disciplines. She’s also the reigning Olympic cross-country mountain bike champion and, as of August, a winner of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.

Despite an already overflowing trophy cabinet, Ferrand-Prévot is eager to take on the opportunity to chase another crown.

We’ll “give our best in the quest for the rainbow jersey,” she said, and jokingly called herself the “world champion of changing plans.”

Ferrand-Prévot previously won the elite women's road race World Championship in 2014. It was the first of three world titles she won within a 12-month period, wearing the rainbow jersey in road cycling, cyclocross, and cross-country mountain biking simultaneously.

The UCI Road World Championships will take place September 21-28 in Rwanda’s capital of Kigali. This is the first time the event has been hosted on the African continent. Ferrand-Prévot will have her chance at yet another world title on September 27, when the women’s peloton tackles the 164.6km road race.