Ineos Grenadiers confirmed on Wednesday that French off-road sensation Pauline Ferrand Prevot will join their team on a two-year deal. Ferrand-Prevot is the only rider to have held world titles in road, cyclocross, and mountain biking in the same year. Furthermore, in the space of just the last two months, she has claimed the short track, cross country, and marathon world titles alongside the inaugural gravel world championships last weekend.
Ferrand-Prevot is the first woman to join the Ineos Grenadiers and bolsters the Grenadier’s off-road squad rapidly developing across multiple disciplines. Ferrand-Prevot will mainly focus on mountain biking with some cyclocross in the winters as she prepares for the 2024 Olympic Games which will take place on home soil in Paris.
In a statement released by the team, Ferrand-Prevot said, “Signing with the Ineos Grenadiers is a dream for me. I’m super excited to be joining the off-road team and becoming part of a wider group of riders and the Ineos family of athletes. The Ineos Grenadiers’ professionalism is world-renowned, and I have always admired the team’s ethos and spirit.”
“To have the 2024 Olympics in Paris is huge for me. I want to be the best rider I can be in front of a home crowd, and that will be my main goal over the next two years. An Olympic gold medal is the only one missing from my palmares so it’s the one I want the most. It was a key reason to join this adventure with the Ineos Grenadiers. I still have a lot of things to learn, and it is the best team to help me reach my goal.”
Ineos Grenadiers Deputy Team Principal, Rod Ellingworth added, “Signing a world-class rider like Pauline is a huge boost as we grow the number of multi-disciplinary athletes racing as Grenadiers.” Ellingworth continued to say, “Pauline is a unique talent. Her palmares speaks for itself, especially after just winning four world titles in the space of two months. But what sets her apart and makes her a great addition to the Grenadiers is her drive and grit. She loves the sport and is a natural-born racer, and that comes through in the way she rides.”
Not content with her summer successes alone, Ferrand-Prevot also revealed her ambitions for the cyclocross season beginning in November: “I’m still feeling super good at the moment and really motivated, so I’m looking to start cyclocross again in November and try and become European Champion in Namur,” she said. “After that, I will take a small break, and then I want to start cyclocross again and be in the best condition for those World Championships.”