Pauline Ferrand-Prévot made a big impact on Saturday on the Col de la Madeleine. The French rider from Visma | Lease a Bike soloed to the stage win, distancing her rivals by minutes and taking over the yellow jersey. Although the new yellow jersey wearer surprised the outside world with her performance, her team had long known the level Ferrand-Prévot could reach. Richard Plugge praises his rider: "She is, of course, a phenomenon when it comes to this kind of effort."
The team boss considers Ferrand-Prévot’s Tour success is a reward for the hard work of the Dutch squad. "We’ve been working on this for a few years now to ride much stronger as a team, because the difference really is made by your team." Plugge also talks about a 'fantastic tactic'. "This is a bit the Visma | Lease a Bike way," he said with a smile.
Yet the team boss admits that the French leader’s performance is largely the result of unique individual qualities. "Of course, you need an exceptional talent and individual like Pauline. But we also know from the men’s side how a team can make the difference. I think you’ve all seen how everyone rode around Pauline. And because of that, she was able to save a tremendous amount of energy."
Pauline Ferrand-PrévotSurprisingly strong?
While the outside world is stunned by Ferrand-Prévot’s climbing performance — in previous stage races the leader had shown a much lower level — Plugge is not surprised. "We knew she would be that strong. We just didn’t know how the competition would be. But she had scouted this climb and we knew what she could do on a climb of — let’s say — well over an hour. She is, of course, a phenomenon when it comes to those kinds of efforts."
Still, Plugge also finds it incredibly impressive how the Olympic mountain bike champion has managed to make the transition back to road racing in a short time. "She moved back from mountain biking to road cycling. And that’s a different branch of the sport. Performing nine days in a row is different from one day, but she is truly a world-class athlete because she learns so quickly and listens very well. A real phenomenon to work with."
Ferrand-Prévot was by far the best on the Col de la Madeleine – Photo: Cor Vos
Ferrand-Prévot’s teammates also knew what the Frenchwoman was capable of but were unsure how that quality would compare to the other top riders. "Earlier this week, I was really struggling on a climb, and she said, ‘Oh yeah, that was just my endurance zone.’ So I already thought: wow, she is really strong. But by minutes, I didn’t necessarily expect that," said an upbeat Eva van Agt after the finish.
Femke de Vries was also overjoyed afterwards. "I still can’t believe it. This was way better than the plan. She can do crazy things and surpass herself when she has a goal, but this is insane."
‘Different rider’
Team director Jos van Emden also sees exceptional qualities in his leader. The former time trialist saw that Ferrand-Prévot’s switch flipped ahead of the Tour. “She was really a different rider in the winter and spring.”
"She’s always got a strong head and trains hard, but last year she became Olympic champion and maybe there was a bit of decompression then." The team director won’t admit that the Paris-Roubaix win was a side effect but does acknowledge that Ferrand-Prévot was definitely not at her best then. "So it really just shows what a fantastic athlete she is," he concludes.
