After a remarkable return to the roads in 2025, Pauline Ferrand-Prévôt hit hard: she won the Tour de France women from her first participation, becoming the first French to win for 36 years.
A few months earlier, she was already entering history by triumphing over the cobblestones of Paris-Roubaix women, another first for a French cyclist. And even if she was forced to abandon during the Vuelta Femenina for health reasons, that did not slow down her flight.
In 2025, she therefore established herself as an essential figure in French cycling, strong with an impressive track record combining road, mountain biking, cyclo-cross … and even an Olympic title!
A passion for family shared bikes
If Pauline arrived so far, she owes it above all to her roots. Born in Reims, she grew up in a home where the bicycle was more than a sport: a family passion. His father, a bicycle seller, and his mother, a great sports lover, played a key role.
“”It is thanks to them that I started the bike and that I am there today“She confided last year.
And always, the bicycle has been its vocation. At 13, she won her first title of champion of France and immediately shared her enthusiasm: “Mom, I know what I’m going to do later, I want to be a professional cyclist! “
A founding moment, which seals an ambition
After her victory around, Pauline did not fail to thank her parents: “It’s a beautiful family story“. A vibrating tribute to those who brought it and supported it, from its first strokes of the pedal.
Pauline’s success is thus based on unfailing support of his relatives. But how can we help a child to follow their way, especially when it comes to a lifestyle as engaging? We asked Amélie Boukhobza, psychologist.
“”It is still often what we hear among great athletes, artists or early entrepreneurs“, she observes.
“Behind the extraordinary successes, there is always a framework, a confidence, and above all an unwavering support. Parents who knew how to take a step aside to let their child move forward.”
But she immediately nuances. “”Let’s be honest: at 13, when a child tells you that he wants to make cycling his life, the temptation is great to answer ‘first your bac’ “.
An understandable reflex. “”We would like to protect them from everything. Ensure their future. But not possible! And by dint of being well, we sometimes end up braking “.
Encourage momentum, without imposing management
So how to find the right posture? For Amélie Boukhobza, everything is played in a subtle balance. “”You have to support without projecting. To be there, without controlling everything. Help dream big, while keeping your feet on the ground. Accompany without doing in their place “, she advises.
She insists on the importance of listening. “”It means listening to what drives them and not what we would have liked they do“. It also encourages to enhance the journey more than performance.
“”You have to give them the right to try, to be mistaken, to learn. Without sticking a genius label to them. Nor pressure impossible to hold. And that’s often the hardest part “.
What if a passion becomes central?
“”So much the better. It’s nice. A child who finds early what he loves needs to be supervised, encouraged, but above all that we believe in it as much as he“, estimates our expert.
Before recalling a basic principle. “”This does not prevent him from also keeping a safety rope. A diploma, a plan B, a solid base. Not to scare him. But for him to keep the freedom to choose, even if one day he changes his mind“.
In summary, the key is supporting, without locating. Believe in their dream, without forgetting to give them the right to change it. A balance that the Ferrand-Prévot family was able to find … for better!