Pauline Ferrand Prevot Parts Ways with Canyon

Dec 21, 2020
by James Smurthwaite  
Pauline Ferrand Prevot ready to head into the second short track of the week.

Canyon has announced in a statement this morning that it is parting ways with Pauline Ferrand Prevot for 2021 and beyond.

Pauline has been riding with Canyon since 2017 and in that time has won 3 XCO World Cups, 2 XCO World Championships and the marathon World Championships, all while struggling with iliac endofibrosis.

Pauline Ferrand Prevot showed us all why she earned the stripes today. She got on the horse and never looked back.
Pauline Ferrand Prevot seemed fired up after missing out on the win a few days ago.

bigquotesPauline has enriched Canyon enormously since 2017 - and I'd like to emphasise I don't just mean that in sporting terms. Of course, we were delighted with every one of her wins: on the road, in cyclocross and especially her two current cross-country World Championship titles. But Pauline is more than the successful racer we all see: she is a stunningly positive character and a true ambassador for the sport. Pauline is a role model: she stands up, she fights, she doesn't lose sight of her goals. I wish her all the best for her sporting and personal future.Roman Arnold, Canyon Founder

Pauline Ferrand Prevot will be super confident heading into World Champs as she tries to defend her rainbow stripes.

There's no word yet on where Pauline will be racing next year although the Canyon press release hints at her moving "closer to the centre of her life, her family". As we speculated in our Racing Rumours post, this could well see her end up on her partner's set up - Absolute Absalon. We're still guessing at this point though and will update you with any official news as we get it.

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Member since Nov 14, 2018
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53 Comments
  • 38 17
 There is now a canyon between them. No matter what she is on, she will always strive to do her best.
  • 31 0
 Dude. That must've took a lot of neurons to come up with that.
  • 17 1
 @MuddyFoxCourierComp: Puns are easily over-Torque'd
  • 16 1
 @pensamtb: We've seen the entire spectral of puns.
  • 10 28
flag rodeostu (Dec 21, 2020 at 8:02) (Below Threshold)
 @Xlr8n: Dude. Enough with the Canyon puns.
  • 15 0
 @rodeostu: In light of your demand, I'll try to remain Stoic.
  • 14 1
 @Xlr8n: Good idea. Hate for you to go all shapeshifter on us. . . .
  • 7 0
 @rodeostu: The Ultimate Grail of comebacks...
  • 27 0
 Well at least they Sender off to another Team with good wishes
  • 5 0
 @Xlr8n: maybe rodeostu Lux a sense of humour or at least doesn't have the Endurance for more puns.

I just thought of those Inflite
  • 2 0
 Correction that should have been Endurace But I was on the right Pathlite
  • 3 0
 @taprider: Never. No-one can Exceed my appetite for Canyon themed puns.
  • 2 0
 @rodeostu: really aeroad by these jokes, aren’t you?
  • 2 1
 @rodeostu: bummer on the down votes, this was a good one
  • 3 0
 @mtallman2: Most definitely. And I'll continue to Strive for a good pun on Koblenz - the Grail of Canyon puns.
  • 4 0
 So, closer to the centre of her heart perhaps? Absolute Absalon rides BMC bikes. But do they have the resources of a proper factory team? Their human capital, nonetheless, should be undisputed.
  • 13 0
 Last time I have seen Absalon at the WC – few years ago when he was World Champion with BMC – he had a small tent, maybe 12 feet wide, with a couple of flimsy fold up chairs. Everything set up in the mud.

Cannondale and Specialzed had huge setups, the rider did not even made top 10.
  • 4 1
 @RedRedRe: Since then they have a world cup champion top 5 overall the rest of the team seems pretty good.
Teams evolve over time.
  • 5 0
 @Macri: I think the point is that the biggest plot in the pits isn’t required to win. Can it help? Sure. Not needed though.
  • 2 0
 @RedRedRe:
Less money on the big tents and more money in the pocket of the ride. I am sure she will go private with collecting all of her own sponsors. A lot more money to be made that way.
  • 1 0
 @RedRedRe: Absalon used the old BMC factory team setup this year in Nove Mesto. Pauline was always with the Absolut Absalon team the last years. Canyon on the other hand had no team structure for XC
  • 1 0
 Did the world champion is Sarrou from absolute absalon? I'm sure he (absalon) can find a lot of budget with this Olympics challenges. Tokyo and Paris 2024... Tiens tiens !
  • 2 0
 No one has pointed out that Prevot's contract was technically for the Canyon-SRAM women's WorldTour road team, she just had the freedom to do MTB and CX. I would say that a new team needs to have the flexibility and means to also get her on the road and CX when she wants...one like Specialized with their Boel's team or Trek with their Segafredo team. Absolute Absalon doesn't really have that lined up right now.

One the face it seems like easy conjecture to say she'll ride on Absolute Absalon, but it doesn't seem black and white. If Pauline can get a big contract from a new team/sponsor, that's more money in her/their pocket. I won't speculate on their financial means other than to say Julien would theoretically just be paying himself/themselves if she rides for Absolute Absalon....unless they have scored a massive new sponsorship, or she simply doesn't care about money.
  • 1 0
 @Jamminator: she's actually listed with the Canyon Collective since at least 2019. I don't know about her road ambitions. The last two years aren't really an indicator for that since she had a few surgeries.
My money is on Absolute Absalon. There she can easily ride MTB and CX. And maybe there is a womens road team on BMC where she could ride as well. That's only a matter of negotiations.
  • 1 0
 @prevail: On the MTB side she's only registered with CFT (Canyon Collective DH team) for logistical reasons, but CSR (Canyon-SRAM) is where her four year contract is tied to, and where she's been registered since she joined Canyon in 2017. That's why CSR made the departure announcement. That's why she still wore CSR kit in XCO races.
httpss://www.uci.org/road/teams/TeamDetail/13999/1002004/267

There doesn't appear to be any BMC women's WorldTour team next year, so who knows...she may not have an exclusivity deal for brand, Absolute could switch bike sponsors, or maybe she just doesn't plan on riding much road in the future.
  • 1 0
 @Jamminator: She announced last year that she won't be doing any professional road racing for the foreseeable future.
  • 10 3
 Welcome Emily!
  • 1 0
 peut être bien ! Wink
  • 2 0
 Hope this is wrong, but it would not surprise me if she retires.

Canyon say she is moving closer to her (young) family, she has chronic health problems and absolutely nothing to prove. I would probably pull the plug in her shoes.

The only thing that tells me otherwise is the Olympics, but she can probably do the minimum under Absolute Absalon to allow France to pick her (if she even wants to go).

I hope she doesn't though, she is genuinely one of the greatest all-round bike riders ever (male or female).
  • 7 2
 She is going to YT or Transition.
  • 4 0
 Specialized is without a top female rider, why is no one guessing that
  • 3 1
 Not really. They have Stigger, Batten and Rissveds. Well covered for present and future top riders.
  • 1 0
 And Sina Frei is rumored to be riding a Specialized next year as well
  • 1 0
 @kclw: Batten has left Specialized Factory to join Trinity Racing (former team of Tom Pidcock - also racing Specialized). She and Christopher Blevins.
  • 1 0
 Maybe Trek will be a good or the best option because Trek also have a very Good women’s Road Team and she can do Cyclo Croos also;-)
  • 3 0
 Absolute Absalon, what else?
  • 3 0
 Off to BMC
  • 4 2
 Emily is off Trek so there could be room for Paulene.
  • 1 0
 Loris is $$$ and Pauline would be too. They'd ned a bigger budget than they were working w/ previously for their factory teams.
  • 1 0
 Possibly part of move to a new road team with different bike sponsor.
  • 1 0
 her partner's set up? like business partner?
  • 3 0
 they're a couple. with both their many titles, imagine the genes their kids will have, no doubt future world champions ;-)
  • 3 2
 Trek?
  • 2 1
 TREK
  • 1 0
 Langvads replacment
  • 1 0
 They have enough girls for next year already
  • 1 0
 @Normalfanofolk As cool as that would be my money is on her flying Absalon colors on a BMC next year.
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