First part of the MTB calendar for Tom Pidcock and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot

The INEOS Greandiers team has just announced the first part of the 2023 MTB calendar for Tom Pidcock, current European XCO champion, and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, current World Champion in XCO, XCC and XCM.

MTB calendar for the first part of the season for Tom Pidcock and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot

Both will coincide in this first half of the MTB season that will start next April 28th in Gueret, a race of the French Cup, will continue on May 7th in Chur, Switzerland, with one of the races of the OKK Bike Revolution series and will culminate in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, in the opening of the XCO World Cup 2023.

• 28-30 April - Coupe France, Gueret, France
• 7 May - BIKE REVOLUTION, Chur, Switzerland
• 12-14 May - Nove Mesto Na Morave World Cup, Czech Republic

There will be three MTB races, which in the case of British rider Tom Pidcock could lead to a second half of road racing focused on his preparation for the Tour de France. Pidcock this year is more focused on his road performance and we will see if after the Tour (July 1-23) he decides to get back on his mountain bike to face the XCO World Championship on August 12th, which will be held as part of the first UCI Super World Championship.

For Pauline Ferrand-Prevot, these should only be the first 3 races of the season and she is expected to ride the entire MTB calendar with the XCO World Championship as a major goal. It is worth remembering that the Frenchwoman is coming off a hip injury that sidelined her from her CX season and that her way of preparing for the season is usually more focused on performing better as the races progress towards the World Championships. We'll see what happens this year when she debuts the INEOS colors in a women's MTB race.