Frenchwoman Pauline Ferrand-Prévot has a tumultuous career. She is the only cyclist in history to win the world road, cyclocross and mountain bike championships over a period of 12 months. At a very young age she established herself as a versatile athlete. The following years, however, were dramatic.
How did she get back on top? Well, let’s just let Pauline count. After all, it is clear that she knows how to stay focused and adapt to complicated situations.
BE PATIENT AND KEEP GOALS IN MINDAfter undergoing further surgery in January 2020, it’s not been easy for Pauline to get off the bike. To stay focused, she explains that you need to make a plan and execute it patiently. “Recovering from an injury is like competing: you keep your goal in mind and work for it,” he says. “When the surgery was scheduled, I knew I would be off the bike for a while. When we found out that the endofibrosis had returned, I talked. with my surgeon and we decided how we would deal with it. It made things clearer and I could plan for recovery.
BACK TO BIKEHaving experienced a round of surgery, Pauline knew what she could expect from herself during the recovery period: “This time I was in better shape, so I came back much faster. I felt good and quickly reached the same final conditioning level as the 2019 season, just two months after surgery. I knew that I would be ready for Tokyo, my main goal. ”
ONE DAY AT A TIMENaturally, surgery affects any athlete’s training schedule. For the amateur, this can be frustrating. But, for the professional, ensuring that you recover correctly is absolutely vital. In the four weeks she was away from cycling, Pauline knew that it was essential not to run before she could walk. Accepting this prevented her from forcing her body ahead of time and causing further damage. “I knew I had time to recover, so I lived day after day, focusing on each step and how I was feeling along the way.”
EXPECT THE UNEXPECTEDIn the Italian stage of the MTB World Cup, Pauline led the race when Jolanda Neff appeared behind his wheel on the final lap, resulting in a fierce final sprint. Embracing the element of surprise is vital for any competitive athlete. Yes, the French won.
“I know that anything can happen to the finish line. That’s why I never underestimate my rivals. The only thing I can control is what I do on my bike; how I pedal and how I concentrate to do my best. a quote from the Roman emperor Marco Aurélio that says: “I can have the strength to accept what could not be changed. I can have the courage to change what could be changed. And that I have the wisdom to distinguish one from the other.” is my tool for dealing with the surprise. ”
USE CONTRACTS AS FUELOne of the main risks for MTB cyclists is to fall. Pauline crashed early in the 2019 World Championship at Mont Sainte-Anne. He ate earth, got up and went after the gold. The key to success is to use everything within your reach as motivation.
“This race was the exact mirror of my entire year: a difficult start and a brilliant end. When I fell, I got back on the bike thinking about what I could do with it. So, as in my surgery, I accepted that I had to be patient, to overtake cyclists one by one. And since we had won a medal in the team relay race, I knew I was strong, so I gave everything I had. ”
KNOW YOURSELFWinning her second cross country title (XCO) showed Pauline how determined she was about her return to the sport.
“The feeling of crossing the finish line as the new XCO world champion was incredible. It was a kind of revenge for all the difficult times I had. When you live those moments, you find the resources necessary to reach your goal deeply” .
ENJOY NOWSomething you may not know about Pauline is that she has a tattoo on the back of her neck that says “Life is a joke”. The history of tattooing has boosted his career in recent years.
