Montreal (AFP)

What a comeback! Pauline Ferrand-Prévot of France was crowned Saturday the Olympic cross-country world champion in the Mont-Sainte-Anne ski resort in Canada, scoring a fourth world title four years after the last, while In men's competition, Switzerland's Nino Schurter won the fifth consecutive record in cross-country.

"I think it's my best title in the world," savored Pauline Ferrand-Prévot just after her race, even letting a few tears fall on the podium.

"I already lost the last four years, I knew it was my day," she added.

The new quadruple world champion in all disciplines (on the road in 2014, cyclo-cross in 2015, mountain bike in 2015 and therefore 2019) comes back after a surgery in January of an iliopathic endofibrosis, a pain that, says she ruined her three previous seasons.

Yet in 18th position, the French cyclist was explosive throughout the race to climb to the top of the standings, ahead of Switzerland Jolanda Neff and Australia's Rebecca McConnell, leaving the race's favorite, the American Kate Courtney in 5th place.

Already a bronze medalist Wednesday in mixed relay with the France team, the 27-year-old Champenoise has returned to the podium recently by winning bronze on Wednesday in the mixed relay event played by the national team and winning a World Cup round early August in Italy.

Remaining sovereign at the national level, the companion of cyclist Julien Absalon, won a sixth title of champion of France on July 21.

- 5 out of 5 for Nino Schurter -

After 3rd place in the mixed relay and the gold of "PFP", the French team has completed its harvest with the bronze medal won, despite a mechanical break, by Stéphane Tempier on the men's race, dominated by the head and shoulders by the legend of the discipline Nino Schurter.

At the age of 33, Switzerland won its fifth consecutive world title (the eighth overall), setting a new record.

Until today, the Grisons mountain biker shared the record of four consecutive world titles with Frenchman Julien Absalon.

While in control during the race, the Swiss secured the first place with a lead of thirty seconds on his closest competitor, his compatriot Mathias Flueckiger.

The Frenchman Stéphane Tempier thus completes the podium, just in front of another tricolor, Titouan Carod who took the 4th place of these Mountain Bike World Championships.

The absence of the Dutch prodigy Mathieu van der Poel, winner of three rounds of World Cup, had opened the way of the quintuplé to Nino Schurter.

The grandson of Raymond Poulidor and son of Adrie van der Poel has chosen to focus on the world road scheduled in late September in Yorkshire but will make the opposite choice next year at the Tokyo Olympics.

In the Women's Under-23 category, France's Loana Lecomte won the bronze medal behind Switzerland's Sina Frei (1st) and Austria's Laura Stigger (2nd).

© 2019 AFP