The French Pauline Ferrand-Prevot flew over the cross-country event of the MTB World Championships, this Sunday August 28 in Les Gets! At 30, she is crowned world champion in cross-country for the fourth time, equaling Norwegian Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå’s record. On Friday, she had already won the short track event at the Worlds. Starting alone in the lead from the first of the six laps, she widened the gap (1min35) with the Swiss Jolanda Neff, second.
“I know what my goals are. I had a very hard winter, I had to rebuild myself and today it paid off.” – Pauline Ferrand-Prevot
“I’m super happy to have done all this work and to win the title“, smiles Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, who also has the titles of world champion in road cycling (2014) and cyclo-cross (2015) on her record.
Loana Lecomte at the foot of the podium
Disappointment for Loana Lecomte… After being crowned European champion in Munich on August 20, the Haut-Savoyard Loana Lecomte, ranked 4th in Les Gets, at the foot of the podium, 3 min 27 from Pauline Ferrand Prévot. Yet the favorite and in second position in the first round, the Annecy had a complicated race and suffered on her bike.
“I’m proud of myself, to have fought until the end. From the first round, I didn’t feel good, I wanted to give up.” – Loana Lecomte
“I managed to remobilize myself, it was in my head, and I’m very happy that Pauline brought back the title.” Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, who spent the week with her compatriot Loana: “Loana is very young, for me she is really the queen of world mountain biking at the moment. Today I have the title but on consistency, Loana has been much more complete this year. She has a great future ahead of her.”
Line Burquier crowned among the hopes
Earlier in the day, Line Burquier, the 19-year-old Haut-Savoyardeoriginally from Saint-Paul-en-Chablais, climbed the first step of the podium in cross-country, in the hopes category, a year after obtaining the title in juniors.
A fine harvest of medals for France at the mountain bike world championships in front of thousands of spectators. The French team won 12 medals including 5 in gold, as well as in Val di Sole in Italy last year.