Ferrand-Prévot and Longo Borghini hard on themselves: "I want to think first before I say something stupid"

The French women went all out for Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, but the Frenchwoman, who convincingly won the Tour de France Femmes this year, was unable to secure a position to contest the medals in the final. After the race, Ferrand-Prévot pointed out in an interview with Sporza the tactical riding of herself and the other top favorites.

“The favorites were watching each other. I expected an attack from Demi (Vollering, ed.) and she expected one from me.” On the other hand, Ferrand-Prévot was not in the top form that brought her the overall victory in the Tour at the beginning of August. “It was a cautious race, and I was also lacking some strength. I had that strength in Paris-Roubaix, but on the cobbles of Kimihurura, I didn't have much left.”

After the race, Ferrand-Prévot was particularly disappointed that she was unable to reward the hard work of her compatriots. She hopes to make up for it next week in her own country. “I feel especially sorry for my teammates because they rode all day. I am disappointed that I couldn't live up to their trust. Next week, I want to ride for them at the European Championships.”

Ferrand-Prévot lost touch with the Vollering group in the final phase, which was only sprinting for seventh place. In the end, the Visma | Lease a Bike rider crossed the finish line in seventeenth place. “I'm not really disappointed,” she said of the result. “Because I did what I had to do in my preparation. But you can't win everything in our sport.”

In addition to Ferrand-Prévot and France, Italy also made its mark with leader Elisa Longo Borghini. The team rode strongly and made up a lot of ground in the first few hours. However, Ferrand-Prévot and Longo Borghini were unable to break away from the rest in the final. “What a strange final. We were stupid and neutralized each other to lose.”

“Why didn't we ride at the front? To be honest, I don't know,” continued Longo Borghini, who will analyze the race thoroughly. “I don't have an answer. At least not yet. And I want to think about it first before I say something stupid. Hats off to the riders who were brave enough to try something. That's been Vallieres (Magdeleine, ed.) all season. Sometimes it's the smartest and the bravest who win.”