Pauline Ferrand-Prévot wrapped up her 2017 season with a win at the elite women’s Roc d’Azur MTB race in Fréjus, France. Ferrand-Prévot took a solo win, 1 minute 30 seconds ahead of second placed Sabrina Enaux. CANYON//SRAM Racing teammate Tiffany Cromwell, accustomed to racing the road, finished 12th in the MTB race.

​”After the road world championships I continued to train until Roc d’Azur. I wasn’t training specifically but more for pleasure. I was really motivated to win but it has been a busy week here at Roc d’Azur,” said Ferrand-Prévot.

“It’s a great event because there are a lot of fans and many of our team’s partners are also here. I didn’t feel so great when I woke up this morning and that it would be hard to win so I knew I needed to be smart in the race,” added Ferrand-Prévot.

“Tiffany did a nice job for me at the start of the race. She rode full gas to the first climb and it saved me some energy from the wind which was really strong. I waited until 25km into the race before I attacked because of the wind. I attacked at the top of the climb and then kept pushing until the end.”

Ferrand-Prévot, who lives in Fréjus, used the hometown knowledge to her advantage. “The last part of the race was on my training road so I knew every corner and every rock. I knew it was impossible that someone could go faster than me on this part of the course.”

The frenchwoman, who won bronze at the UCI MTB world championships and was 11th at the UCI road world championships last month added “It was my last race of the season and I’m really happy that I’ve finished a season still in good shape and healthy. Now I’m looking forward to a nice holiday!”