'I was less punchy than before' — Ferrand-Prévot settles for seventh in Huy with Liège in her sights

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot arrived in Huy on Wednesday with one clear ambition: to repeat the win she first claimed here twelve years ago, in 2014. It wasn't to be. The Visma | Lease a Bike rider finished seventh as Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) took the honours on the Mur de Huy — but she left with her focus already fixed on Sunday.

After the race, Ferrand-Prévot was reunited with her fiancé, Dylan van Baarle, who had made the trip to Huy as a spectator. The Soudal Quick-Step rider finds himself between races in the gap between the Amstel Gold Race and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and used the time to watch his partner race and debrief with her afterwards.

Before the start, Ferrand-Prévot had spoken openly about what the race means to her. "This was where I took my first international elite road victory," she said of her 2014 win — a result that came in the same season she went on to become road world champion. "It's a happy memory. I'm glad to be here today, with slightly different strengths than back then."

Those different strengths are worth noting. Since her return to road racing after a long mountain bike career, Ferrand-Prévot has evolved into a rider better suited to longer, harder days in the mountains than the short, explosive demands of the Mur de Huy. She had sensed the difficulty coming.

"I'm a bit less punchy than I was a few years ago," she admitted beforehand. "It's a tough race, and at the finish you need that extra something." After the race, speaking with Van Baarle, she elaborated: when Vollering accelerated on the final ascent, Ferrand-Prévot had no answer.

"I felt good today. The team did strong work throughout the whole race, which was great to see. On the final climb I didn't feel empty — but my legs just weren't as strong as I'd hoped. I was missing a little bit of explosivity today."

That lack of punch is unlikely to be a problem on Sunday. Liège-Bastogne-Liège — Ferrand-Prévot's main goal of this spring — is a different kind of race entirely. Longer and more relentlessly hard, it rewards sustained climbing over punchy acceleration.

"Today I was missing a little explosivity — but Sunday is a different kind of race. Liège-Bastogne-Liège is harder across the whole day. I'm really looking forward to it."

Van Baarle will also be racing in Liège on Sunday, meaning both partners close out their spring campaigns together in the Belgian Ardennes. One week later, Ferrand-Prévot heads straight to the Vuelta, which starts on 3 May.