Pauline Ferrand-Prévot to wear Sidi shoes this season

By Ryan Simonovich
published

World Champion joins Sidi after signing with Absolute Absalon-BMC earlier this year

Pauline Ferrand-Prevot
(Image credit: Paul Foulonneau)

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot will be training and racing with Sidi shoes this season. The World Champion has gained a shoe sponsor in the lead-up to the 2021 mountain bike season, where she will be focusing on the Olympic Games. 

Earlier this year, Ferrand-Prévot joined the Absolute Absalon-BMC team to focus mainly on cross-country mountain bike racing. Having seen racing success on the mountain bike as well as on the road and in cyclo-cross, the current XCO World Champion opted to focus on the Mountain Bike World Cup, World Championships, and Olympic games this season after leaving Canyon-SRAM last December. 

"This season is going to be an adventure," said Ferrand-Prévot in a press release. "I'm thrilled to be able to wear and represent the shoes of a brand that has made history with its patents and innovation." 

Pauline Ferrand-Prevot

(Image credit: Camille Balanche at the 2020 downhill World Championships)

The Absolute Absalon-BMC team will be racing on the BMC Fourstroke full-suspension cross-country bike this season, equipped with RockShox suspension and SRAM XX1 Eagle electronic drivetrain components. The team says that Ferrand-Prévot will race a different, customized bike for the season. 

The multi-time World Champion competed in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, both on the road and mountain bike, which she told Cyclingnews were "horrible". However, she saw recent success at the 2020 XCO World Championships in Leogang, Austria, taking the win despite the race season being severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Ferrand-Prévot will presumably make her season debut at the first round of the 2021 Mountain Bike World Cup in Albstadt, Germany on 8-9 May. The Olympic Games are scheduled to run from 23 July to 8 August, although there has been plenty of speculation on if the games will actually go ahead as planned. 

"We are delighted to welcome Pauline," Dino Signori, founder of Sidi, said in the press release. "We are proud to have a world champion, not only for her important list of achievements but also for the way she has shown great tenacity after her last two injuries, managing to return to the top of the world rankings."

Ryan Simonovich
Ryan Simonovich

Ryan Simonovich has been riding and racing for nearly a decade. He got his start as a cross-country mountain bike racer in California, where he cultivated his love for riding all types of bikes. Ryan eventually gravitated toward enduro and downhill racing but has also been found in the occasional road and cyclo-cross events. Today, he regularly rides the trails of Durango, Colorado, and is aiming to make a career out of chronicling the sport of cycling. 

Rides: Santa Cruz Hightower, Specialized Tarmac SL4