Extra pressure on Van Aert? Ferrand-Prévot is aware that law of decreasing advantage comes into effect for Visma

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot surprisingly won the women’s edition of Paris-Roubaix on Saturday—thanks in part to the Gravaa tire pressure system used by Visma | Lease a Bike. But the French rider is the first to admit that the so-called law of the decreasing advantage will soon kick in. “We’re lucky to have this system, because I think by next year everyone will be using similar technology. So it gave us a nice margin, for now.”

Ferrand-Prévot had been ill in the lead-up to the race, but on Saturday, she was “sick strong and ridiculously good.” “It was so hard. I just tried to hang on during the first cobblestone sectors. Then I crashed on Auchy-lez-Orchies to Bersée, so I had to chase. I wasn’t sure I should even start, but we decided to go for it—and worst case, I’d work for Marianne [Vos],” she said in her flash interview. At the post-race press conference in Roubaix’s new velodrome, she elaborated further.

Read more below the photo!

An hour and a half after the race. How does it feel to be the winner of Paris-Roubaix?

"Good question. I'm incredibly happy. I haven’t felt well the past few days. I crashed in Strade Bianche and never really recovered from it, partly because of an ankle infection. I had to take antibiotics twice, and I only stopped taking them on Wednesday."

"But then on Thursday, I got sick again... which meant I had to skip Friday’s training because I felt so weak. This morning, I didn’t have a fever anymore, so we decided to take the gamble. I wanted to help Marianne and improve her chances of going for the win. So I really wasn’t sure about myself, but you just try to make the best of it."

"My goal was to help Marianne win, and I actually kind of did that. Marianne told me to attack, and I decided to go for it on the asphalt. The group behind didn’t get organized, so I just went full gas to force SD Worx-Protime to work. At that moment, I wasn’t even thinking about winning, I just wanted them to chase. That I ended up winning is really cool."

Where does this race rank, for someone who’s already won so much?

"The Tour is really my big goal. The Olympics last year are at the top, and now I’m enjoying being back on the road, working with my team and everything around it. It’s nice that not everything revolves around me, and because of that, I feel really happy at Visma | Lease a Bike. We still need to become stronger, and I’m already looking forward to the challenges ahead."  

Was this race already a goal back in January, or more of a dream?

(laughs) "This race wasn’t even on my schedule. Normally, I would’ve been on an altitude camp for two weeks right now, but after Strade Bianche and Milan-Sanremo, I asked if I could please ride the Tour of Flanders. One week later, I asked, 'Can I do Roubaix too?' So it was a last-minute decision, but I just really enjoy it. Racing like this is also very valuable because you learn a lot about handling hectic situations. The Tour starts in Brittany, and you can learn a lot about positioning from those first three chaotic stages. That I managed to finish second and now first is amazing."

How hard was it to return to road racing?

"It hasn’t always been easy. If you saw me last year at the World Championships on the road... I had to work very hard over the winter and needed a lot of patience. It’s a completely different sport compared to mountain biking, and it took a lot of effort, but I kept believing in the process. Now I feel comfortable in the peloton, and that’s a great feeling."

Read more below the photo!

Ferrand-Prévot on the tire pressure system: "We were very lucky with it"

How much did the tire pressure system help?

"It worked really well. Being able to ride on lower pressure over the cobbles gave me a lot more control and far fewer bumps. And it was super helpful to be able to pump them back up on the asphalt. In the final kilometers, it was mostly asphalt, and I finished the race with 4 bar of pressure, which makes a big difference. We already tested it in Flanders. It’s 400 grams heavier, but in Roubaix, there was never even a question about whether we should use it."

"We’re really lucky to have this system, because I think by next year everyone will be using something similar. So it was a great advantage."

How did you use it?
"I studied the course well so I knew where I wanted to use it. It was like going back to school the last few days, because I saw every corner and intermediate section on VeloViewer. You have to know the course and know where you need less or more pressure, but it definitely helped."

How many times did you change?
"Every cobblestone strip. It goes fast, like a pssjjt sound. It does take a while to go back to 4 bar, but you need patience for that."

Your partner Dylan van Baarle has a cobble trophy, and now you do too. Have you talked about that?

"Two days ago, we gave an interview and talked about it for the first time. For me, it wasn’t a big goal, but now I’m really proud to have one too. I’m going to put it nicely next to his and hope the guys bring one home on Sunday as well. By the way, I still have to fly this heavy cobblestone home… That’s going to cost me 200 euros!"

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