Cycling: The French selection for the Montreal Worlds without Pauline Ferrand-Prévot

In the absence of Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, France will rely on Juliette Berthet, Cédrine Kerbaol and the young Célia Géry at the World Road Cycling Championships from September 20 to 27 in Montreal, according to the list unveiled Friday by coach Paul Brousse.

“PFP”, world champion in 2014 and victorious in the Tour de France last year, is skipping the Canadian event for personal reasons. The 34-year-old from Rémoise is due to get married this fall to her fiancé, Dutch runner Dylan van Baarle.

Her team also announced that the Frenchwoman was ending her season. “In consultation with the team, it was decided that Pauline would take the time to rest and recover until the end of the season,” said her training, Visma-Lease a bike.

The Blues will not leave deprived however since all the other executives responded to form a homogeneous whole with Cédrine Kerbaol, sixth in the last Tour de France, Juliette Berthet, fifth in the Vuelta, Léa Curinier, Marie Le Net, Evita Muzic, Maëva Squiban and Célia Géry.

The latter is the reigning U23 world champion after winning the title last year in Kigali after three stage victories on the Tour de l'Avenir. The young 20-year-old nugget confirmed this year at the highest level with a stage victory in the Giro and a French champion title at the end of June.

She was also decisive in the conquest of the Tour de France by the Dutchwoman Demi Vollering, her teammate in the FDJ-Suez team and who will be the main favorite for the Worlds in Montreal.

The road race will take place on Saturday September 26 on a demanding course of 180.4 km and 2,570 m of altitude difference.

The Worlds will begin on Sunday September 20 with the women's time trial where Cédrine Kerbaol and Juliette Berthet will defend the French colors with ambitions there too.