FERRAND PREVOT Pauline

General
DIFFICULT TIMES
She began experiencing pain in her left leg in 2014, but it was another four years before doctors got to the root of the problem and discovered she had iliac artery endofibrosis. The condition is characterised by a blocked iliac artery, and affects the circulation of blood. She underwent surgery in January 2019 and was able to return to competition three months later, although she required a second operation in January 2020. "With intense workouts the pain was unbearable but I didn't understand why. I even wondered if the pain was only in my head. I convinced myself that I was not training enough so I added more intensity, something that only aggravated the pain. I thought about quitting the sport several times, but I didn't do it only because I love cycling so much. When I was back on the bike after surgery I told myself, 'It's finally over! I'm fine!' I regained pleasure in riding, something I had lost." (leparisien.fr, 28 Aug 2019; paulineferrandprevot.com, 06 Jan 2020)

OCCUPATION
She has served as a voluntary deputy gendarme at the French Gendarmerie [military police tasked with civil duties]. (lessor.org, 17 Aug 2018; wtfru.fr, 06 May 2012)

She is the first cyclist, male or female, to have simultaneously held a world title in road cycling, mountain bike and cyclo cross. In 2014 she won gold in mountain bike and road cycling at the respective world championships for each sport, and the following year secured gold in cyclo cross at the 2015 World Championships in Tabor, Czech Republic. (SportsDeskOnline, 20 Dec 2019; bbc.co.uk, 24 Sep 2015)