It was a mixed bag for the Ineos Grenadiers at the Guéret round of the French Cup mountain bike series. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot rode to victory in the women's cross-country race but Tom Pidcock withdrew from the men's cross-country race with a mechanical.
This weekend marked Ferrand-Prévot's first appearance in a mountain bike race for the Ineos Grenadiers after she signed on as the first female rider for the squad over the offseason. She did not disappoint in her inaugural cross-country race in Ineos kit, storming to a convincing victory.
"It’s good to be back," was all Ferrand-Prévot needed to say on her Instagram post about the race.
The four-time MTB world champion flew solo to cross the line more than two minutes ahead of runner-up Léna Gerault (Berria Vittoria Factory Team). Annie Last (Lapierre Mavic Unity) rounded out the podium on the day.
After Ferrand-Prévot's strong showing on the women's side, Pidcock's first cross-country race of the year didn't go as well. The Olympic champion, who rode onto the podium in the short track race in Guéret on the heels of his podium performance at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, did not finish.
According to Ineos Grenadiers, Pidcock was "forced to abandon after a mechanical issue."
New Zealand's Sam Gaze (Alpecin-Deceuninck), with a short track win already in the bag, went on to win the cross-country race as well.
Pidcock and Ferrand-Prévot will both be back to racing next weekend in Switzerland at the OKK Bike Revoltion, with an eye towards continuing to build towards the first MTB World Cup race of the year at Nové Město in the Czech Republic.
