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 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 |
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.
I just thought of those Inflite
Cannondale and Specialzed had huge setups, the rider did not even made top 10.
Teams evolve over time.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
What I like about Canyon is they can care less about trends. They build a refined and fast machine and they go with it. No reason to "fake" the sheep customers into buying the next best thing.
It's a reason they are so successful IMO. They will make a good bike and actually leave it untouched for years.