How a nearly untraceable issue almost made Ferrand-Prévot retire: 'It easily ruined two years of her career'

After ten years away, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot finally returned to road cycling – and no one has ever done it better than the French star. Riding for Visma | Lease a Bike, she immediately won Paris-Roubaix and the Tour de France Femmes, leaving a huge mark on the sport. But it nearly never happened at all.

After world titles in mountain biking and cyclo-cross, Ferrand-Prévot went through several difficult years. In 2017 and 2018, she struggled badly to make an impact – and there was a reason. “Whenever I had to push beyond 70 percent of my maximum effort, I got a feeling of a ‘dead leg’, as if something was pressing on my thigh and foot,” she told L'Équipe. “During those four years I visited countless doctors and underwent many treatments, but none of them really worked.”

The French superstar kept struggling, something her coach Barry Austin also witnessed. “No one could find the cause, so they concluded it must be psychological. I told her: ‘I believe you.’” After endless tests, the problem was finally identified. “In the end we found the cause by consulting doctors who were not cycling specialists. I went to doctors from other sports, because they have a more open perspective.”

According to Austin, cycling can sometimes be too rigid in how problems are approached. “In cycling, when several people say the same thing, you often immediately assume that must be the explanation. But when we met this doctor, a former rugby player, he acted as if he knew nothing about cycling. He focused on the injury, listened to the athlete and developed a plan. We were incredibly lucky.”

The diagnosis turned out to be endofibrosis – a narrowing of the iliac artery. At the end of 2018, Ferrand-Prévot could finally look forward to an end to her problems. Thanks to fellow rider Edwige Pitel, she found a suitable surgeon, and the operation took place on 23 January 2019. Later that year, she became world champion in mountain biking: operation successful. At least for a while, because relapse later that season meant another operation was required.

What transpired was endofibrosis, or a narrowing of the pelvic artery. In late 2018, Ferrand-Prévot could finally look forward to the end of the trouble. Thanks to fellow rider Edwige Pitel, she was able to find a suitable surgeon, and the surgery came on Jan. 23, 2019. She became world mountain biking champion later that year: surgery successful! Until later that year. A relapse meant another surgery on the problem.

It took a huge toll on the French rider, but once again she managed to fight her way back. This time, the solution held – as shown by her performances in recent years. Her parents followed everything from the front row. “She learned to understand herself when she had problems with her pelvic artery,” said her mother Sylviane Dubau. “It helped her mature, even though it easily ruined two years of her career. But she grew from it.”