The Dutch Demi Vollering and the Belgian Lotte Kopecky advance as favorites for the World Road Cycling Championships on Saturday in Zurich, but France intends to confuse the issue with the return of Pauline Ferrand-Prévot who electrifies the peloton.
On paper, the demanding course – 2,400 m of altitude difference over 154 km including four laps of a final circuit of 27 km – fits like a glove for the two teammates of the SD Worx team who had already dominated the debates last year in Glasgow, where Kopecky won ahead of Vollering. Both are at the head of formidable selections and exude health at the moment.
The Belgian has just won the Tour de Romandie and Vollering, who loves this kind of bumpy track as proven by his two triumphs in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, remains in second place in the time trial of the Worlds last Sunday behind Australian Grace Brown.
With the Polish Kasia Niewiadoma, winner of the Tour de France in August, they are shaping up to be the main contenders for the rainbow jersey. But several factors can disrupt the game, starting with the rain which is forecast and could make a winding course full of tricky descents dangerous, as unfortunately shown by the serious accident of a young Swiss runner, Muriel Furrer, died Friday after a fall the day before in the junior race.
And then there is Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, one of the greatest cyclists of all time, world champion fifteen times in four different cycling disciplines (road in 2014, mountain biking, cyclo-cross and gravel), whose return is the big attraction of these World Championships.
Finally becoming Olympic champion this summer in mountain biking, the Frenchwoman decided, at 32, to return to the road to win the Tour de France in the next three years with the Visma-Lease a bike team.
– “We’re going to try things” –
Many think that she has more than the means and if she warns that it will undoubtedly take a little time for her to regain her bearings, her simple presence in Zurich, decided at the last moment, could upset the situation.
“Everyone is afraid of what Pauline can do on Saturday, it brings a lot of uncertainty with adversity,” rejoices the coach of the France team, Paul Brousse.
With “PFP”, France is moving forward another notch in the hierarchy while it can already count on a very solid group, notably including three riders who finished in the Top 10 of the last Tour de France with the climber Evita Muzic , 4th, Cedrine Kerbaol, 6th, and the historic leader Juliette Labous, 9th despite a Covid.
“In terms of density, we have never had such a strong French team before. It gives a lot of emulation and stimulation. We know that we can play, we will try things,” promises Paul Brousse.
Les Bleues openly dream of an eleventh world title, the first since Ferrand-Prévot in 2014 in Ponferrada in Spain, by banking on the “collective” in which Evita Muzic is notably emerging. Not selected for the Olympics, the FDJ-Suez rider aims to “get that rainbow world champion jersey” on a circuit that “suits her very well”.
“PFP” promises to put itself “at the service of the team”, knowing that, depending on the circumstances, it could also have its card to play.
“I did an altitude training course in Andorra for five weeks, I prepared well for this event. In terms of watts I think I am among the best,” points out the Rémoise as a warning.
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