After being drafted in late from altitude camp to Visma's squad for De Ronde, former road world champion Ferrand-Prévot had just two days to train using the tyre system made by Dutch brand Gravaa and get some practice with the settings she'd run in Sunday's race.
In real-world use, it was simple for Ferrand-Prévot to operate, with lower pressure over the rough cobbled roads and higher pressure for moments such as the final sprint at the click of a button. She ultimately lost out to Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) in that final charge but did finish higher than she ever has at Flanders prior to her return to road racing in 2025.
"The tyre pressure system was good," Ferrand-Prévot told Cyclingnews after the finish. "I mean I tried it for the first time in training on Friday, so it was just two days to get used to it.
"Basically with the system you can choose between three pressures and the lowest pressure is the one I used on the cobblestones, the intermediate one was more for in-between sections because to pump again you need to push some watts, so I didn't want to push a lot of watts to go into too much higher pressure with too many watts.
"And In the end for sure I put the higher pressure in the tyres to try to be as fast as possible."
It's exactly the way Marianne Vos used the system during Gravel Worlds, where on that occasion, the Visma rider did manage to get the better of Kopecky in a two-up sprint.
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Its use isn't a new thing, having been seen in races on Visma-Lease a Bike's team bikes back at the men's Dwars door Vlaanderen in 2023, and in the GP de Denain on March 20 of this year, where young Brit Matthew Brennan took the victory for the Dutch squad. But the women's squad haven't been afforded the luxury as often as the men's, and while Paris-Roubaix had seen the killer bees use Gravaa hubs in 2023, the Tour of Flanders hadn't witnessed it yet.
Systems of this kind were approved in April of 2022 by the UCI after then Team DSM had also been working on a similar on-the-go tyre pressure management system with the Scope Atmoz.
On Gravaa's system, inside of wheel hubs lies a mini compressor and clutch which can be used to inflate the pressure of the tyre on the fly while on solid terrain, before reducing pressure to accommodate rougher terrain where lower pressure could optimise rolling resistance.
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A closer look at the high-tech system from Dutch brand Gravaa(Image credit: Will Jones)
A closer look at the high-tech system from Dutch brand Gravaa(Image credit: Will Jones)
A closer look at the high-tech system from Dutch brand Gravaa(Image credit: Will Jones)
Vos ultimately had her race ended by a mechanical and subsequent crash on the Koppenberg, which left Ferrand-Prévot to fight things out on her own as Kopecky and Liane Lippert (Movistar) lit things up several times, however, she'll be back for more cobbled fun in a weeks' time at Paris-Roubaix.
"I was kind of OK but on the Koppenberg I had a mechanical and a crash due to that so then I had to walk," Vos told Cyclingnews at the finish, with blood on her right arm evidence of her hitting the deck. "I had to walk, and then you know it's always going to be difficult."
Will Vos use Gravaa's adjustable tyre pressure system at the Hell of the North on Sunday? You can assume yes, given how she said "I think it can be helpful yes", with a smile.
She'll again have Ferrand-Prévot for support and as co-leader at Roubaix with the French rider's late entry again highlighting how well the pair believe they are working since the multi-discipline superstars joined forces again after being teammates at Rabobank earlier in their careers.
"Of course, we aimed for the win, but getting second I think is a very good job from Pauline, so, of course, it was good to hear that she was in the break with four, and Kopecky is especially hard to beat in Flanders so Pauline can be proud of her performance," said Vos in praise of her teammate.
"I wanted to wait as long as possible to start the sprint," said Ferrand-Prévot of the finale. "I did, but Lotte was simply too strong"
With Paris-Roubaix just around the corner, Ferrand-Prévot was confident that, alongside Vos, the Visma women's team could be well within the fight for victory at next Saturday's race.
"I think anything can happen [at Paris-Roubaix], and we know that Marianne Vos is also super fast in the sprinting so we have to race smart and make the others tired. If Marianne Vos can be at her best, she can win Roubaix," said Ferrand-Prévot when asked how they can defeat defending champion Kopecky in northern France.
"I don't know why I did this stupid idea because I was not planned for Flanders and I was not planned for Roubaix, but I'm feeling good and I'm in good shape.
"I also want to help the team and we also want to win Roubaix with Marianne next week, so I want to be there to help her."
The star Visma pair will have the Gravaa system on their side at Paris-Roubaix on April 12, but can the use of Gravaa's adjustable tyre pressure system see them knock Kopecky off of top spot at the cobbled Classics?
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James Moultrie is a gold-standard NCTJ journalist who joined Cyclingnews as a News Writer in 2023 after originally contributing as a freelancer for eight months, during which time he also wrote for Eurosport, Rouleur and Cycling Weekly. Prior to joining the team he reported on races such as Paris-Roubaix and the Giro d’Italia Donne for Eurosport and has interviewed some of the sport’s top riders in Chloé Dygert, Lizzie Deignan and Wout van Aert. Outside of cycling, he spends the majority of his time watching other sports – rugby, football, cricket, and American Football to name a few.
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