The life of a champion is not easy, especially if your name is Pauline Ferrand-Prévot. The last 24 hours are proof of that. On Saturday afternoon in Veneto, in north-eastern Italy, she won a UCI gravel world title, the first in the history of the discipline and her fourth in two months after titles in short track, cross country and marathon. After the various demands and commitments, it was off to the car for a ride of over six hours to get to bed at 02:30 and be at the start line of the Roc d'Azur at 8:30.

Less than three hours later, she also triumphed at the Roc d'Azur - her second victory after that of 2017. "It was important for me to be at the Roc d'Azur to thank the French public," explains Pauline Ferrand-Prévot. "I really wanted to ride with this world champion's jersey on my training circuits. It was a challenge to start there, but I had prepared myself mentally. I started in the middle of the field to see how my legs were doing. And then I rode to the front on the first climb. I'm on cloud nine, I feel so good these days and I just do what I do. The Italians Martina Berta and Giada Specia came in second and third, almost ten minutes behind.

Fourth victory for Jordan Sarrou

This was also a historic edition in the men's category: Jordan Sarrou took his fourth title after 2014, 2016 and 2019. The 2020 world champion, who finished 6th in the last world championships, also led for most of the race. "Winning the Roc d'Azur for the fourth time is mountain bike history," he says. "It was my goal for the end of the season. I pushed hard at the start of the race. After Fournel, I accelerated hard. The lead built up and I didn't let up. Although it was raining, the track was sandy, so not slippery, and we had good traction. I had a lot of fun and it's great to finish like this." In 2:25:05 hours, he was two minutes ahead of his compatriot Hugo Drechou, who had won the Ford Roc Marathon (92 km) on Friday, and the leader of the UCI Marathon Series, the German Andreas Seewald. The third-placed Frenchman, Thibaud Saint-Guilhem, finished in a good eighth place.