When former cyclo-cross world champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot lines up to race, expectations are high, even if it`s been two years since her last competition in the off-road discipline. The Frenchwoman handled the pressure with ease at the weekend, claiming fourth in DVV Verzekeringen Trofee in Essen and victory in Vlaamse Druivencross, both in Belgium. `When you are there on the start line, and you´ve been former world champion, it doesn`t matter if you start in the last line or first line, you know everybody is expecting something from you,` Ferrand-Prévot said in a team press release. `Even if it`s the first time in two years that you`re racing, people are still expecting something. I just tried to push away that pressure.` Ferrand-Prévot previously dominated the road and off-road scenes, winning world titles for the road (2014), cyclo-cross (2015) and mountain bike (2015). She took a step back from off-road disciplines after the Rio Olympics in 2016.ADVERTISEMENT `I didn`t enjoy not racing at all,` she said. `But I needed the break. I needed to have time away from the bike after the Olympics, and last winter was a good time to do that. I would have liked to race. But that time away was important.` She gradually introduced mountain biking back into her schedule in February with her road team Canyon-Sram. She ended the season with podiums in both the MTB World Cup and Women´s WorldTour. She also added cyclo-cross racing to her fall and winter program to help prepare for the 2018 spring classics, particularly Strade Bianche. Since she`s earned no points, she must start each race in the back row, and she knows her comeback was an unknown.
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