Women’s Paris-Roubaix: the champion Olympic Mountain Bike Pauline Ferrand-Prevot becomes the first Frenchman to win

“I was confident that the team could do something really good. But you also had to have some luck and put everything together.”

The crossed pilot was making its debut in the race, after reaching the road circuit in 2025 after the absence of a decade.

The Belgium Kopacky Lotte Lotte champion arrived 12th, a place in front of the Georgi Pfeiffer of Great Britain, while the compatriot Zoe Backstedt was 15th.

Ferrand-Prevot’s victory came despite a 53 km fall from the end of the race, which has 17 cobbled sectors for a total of 29.2 km. He had also suffered from diseases in the accumulation.

“I was sick in the last two days. I didn’t even know if I was about to start,” he said. “In the end, I did the right thing coming.

“I started thinking that I would do my best to help (teammate) Marianne Vos to win. I don’t believe it.”

Ferrand-Prevot said he had started to “really enjoy” his return to the road and that winning the Tour de France Femmes, which takes place from 26 July to 3 August, was his “main objective”.

“I really want to be 100% for Tour de France. And I want to try to win Tour de France within three years,” he said.

“We are building something very strong together as a team.”

The men’s race of Paris-Roubaix takes place on Sunday.