MTB Worlds: Ferrand-Prévot takes elite XCO title in front of home crowd
Olympic Champion Neff second for Switzerland and Batten third for US
On Sunday, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot joined Norway's Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesja as the only women to have won four Elite XCO world titles. She did in front of an appreciative home crowd in Les Gets, France, with a dominant performance at the 2022 the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships.
Jolanda Neff (Switzerland) took the silver, 1:35 back, while Haley Batten (USA) finished another 38 seconds later and secured the bronze.
Ferrand-Prévot made no secret of the fact that winning the world title in France was her number one priority for the season, skipping the two North American rounds of the World Cup to focus on training.
It paid off, with the French rider, who recently won the European title, riding away from the rest of the field on the first lap. She had 30 seconds on a chase group by the end of the opening circuit, 1:35 over second place by the finish and 10th place was more than five minutes down at the end. Less than half the field finished the race on the same lap; rarely is such dominance seen at the world championships.
The race was behind for second, with Batten, Loana Lecomte (France) and Alessandra Keller (Switzerland) initially battling for the remaining medals. Lecomte was dropped after the second lap, with Batten and Keller left in the chasing positions.
However, Olympic Champion Neff surged mid-race to join the duo by lap 4, and then attacked a lap later. Batten was able to follow initially before dropping back to third. Neff made little headway on Ferrand-Prévot, but was able to hold on to second for the silver medal, with Batten taking third.
"Right now I feel exhausted, but it is incredible," said Ferrand-Prévot. "I made the choice to go with a hardtail bike because I knew that I could go faster on the climbs. It was a bit risky, but I wanted to go straight from the start, to go full gas and try to make a gap, and I did it. After that, I just had to be soft and clean on the downhills.
"Right now it feels like a dream and I can't believe it. But I want to see my parents and my friends. After that, I think I will know."
Results powered by FirstCycling
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
Best heart rate monitors of 2025: Never miss a beat, on and off the bike
The best heart rate monitors will track your heart rate comfortably, consistently and accurately -
'I found the percentages I was looking for' - Van der Poel impressed by Ganna, Pedersen and Pogačar, nears top shape for Milan-San Remo
Dutchman feeling positive after Tirreno-Adriatico and before the first Monument of 2025 -
Thüringen Ladies Tour officially cancelled for 2025 after key state funding withdrawn
37th edition of German stage race will not take place in June, organisers confirm -
'I'd like to be in the Volta a Catalunya' - Egan Bernal aims for rapid re-start from broken collarbone setback
Colombian 'only lost three days training' from injury, aims for Giro d'Italia start