‘I’m sure about myself’ – Pauline Ferrand-Prévot carries Paris-Roubaix and Tour de France winning confidence into Strade Bianche

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and Marianne Vos will lead Visma-Lease a Bike into the Spring Classics with their first races of the season at Strade Bianche on Saturday.

They are two of the greatest cyclists of all time – and between them, share more multi-discipline world titles and racing experience than any other in the peloton today – and both aim to share success on the punishingly steep slopes into the Piazza del Campo in Siena.

“I hope we can complement each other; we have some of the same characteristics, but we are also different. So we try to get the best out of each other and help each other in the best way,” said Vos, a 14-time multi-discipline world champion, of her teammate in a press conference with select members of the media, including Cyclingnews, on Thursday.

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Ferrand-Prévot had an outstanding return to road cycling last year, after retiring from a sparkling mountain bike career, winning Paris-Roubaix and the Tour de France on home soil.

She is no stranger to the road scene, having raced for top teams Rabobank and Canyon-SRAM from 2012-2020, and she is a 15-time world champion across road, cyclo-cross, mountain bike and gravel racing.

However, she told the media that, despite her success last year, she still at times felt as though she was finding her feet in road racing, especially during the Spring Classics.

“Last year, it was good for me to come back. It was discovering again what road cycling was. Last year, I had a feeling when I started Strade Bianche that I was still a MTB rider, but this year I’m coming into Strade as a road rider. In my mind, it’s quite different,” Ferrand-Prévot said.

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She arrives at Strade Bianche in her second year with Visma-Lease a Bike, and with much more confidence. “After what I did last season, I can be a bit more sure about myself, which is also good.”

Ferrand-Prévot said she is pleased to be starting the Spring Classics season alongside Vos, once again. Last year, she finished third behind Demi Vollering (FDJ United-SUEZ) and Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) in Siena, and went on to finish second at the Tour of Flanders and then win Paris-Roubaix. Vos also had a strong spring campaign last year, finishing second at Milan-San Remo.

“Racing with Marianne is always such an honour. I always learn from her, and she always finds a way to make good results and to make you feel good. It is nice to race with her. But on this team, we have new riders, and I was very impressed by how they rode and how professional they are from a young age. In the future, we can expect a lot from them,” said Ferrand-Prévot, who will also aim for peak performances at the Ardennes Classics and Tour de France.

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Vos and Ferrand-Prévot arrived in Siena from a three-week altitude training camp and will line up with teammates Femke de Vries, Daniek Hengeveld, Katharina Sadnik and Sarah Van Dam.

Vos confirmed she was racing a full Spring Classics campaign, but didn’t specify which races she was targeting. She said that she and the team are ready to race.

“I’m looking forward to the first race. When the first one comes closer, of course, the nerves are always set in a bit but I think we’re ready. The whole team is ready, and I’m really looking forward to this.”

The elite women will compete in a 133km race, but this year there will be two fewer gravel sectors and five fewer kilometres than last year, still, Vos believes it will be a brutal route on offer at the Italian Classic.

“I think it’s still a beautiful parcours. I don’t think the less gravel will make it easier. It’s, of course, not a big change in the final, so the part will go fast, and then we’ll reach the final loop, and we’ll do the same. You will always see who has the legs, and in the final, the best riders will end up in front.

“It’s hard. You need a whole team to be in a good position and in control, and then you still need legs to be there in the final. The race has everything.”

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