Franziska Koch wins Paris-Roubaix Femmes In Velodrome Sprint

“It’s kind of hard to believe. I’ve been dreaming about it, but Roubaix is a race where anything can happen, and that it worked out in the end, it’s like a dream,” Koch said after the finish.

The decisive selection formed after Mons-en-Pévèle, with Koch joining Marianne Vos and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot at the front. From there, the race narrowed to a three-up sprint and Koch found just enough in the final metres.

Managing the race before the sprint

Roubaix rarely allows for a simple approach, and Koch’s ride reflected that.

“We did a really good race with the team. We knew that positioning is key in the beginning. It’s like a war going into the cobble sections, and we were fully committed to invest already early in the race. I managed to stay out of trouble, always be in the top-ten on the cobble sections. We wanted to make the race hard, and after Mons-en-Pévèle, I ended up in the perfect move,” she said.

That early investment paid off. While others punctured or lost position across the 33km of cobbles, Koch stayed consistently near the front, avoiding the disruptions that defined much of the race.

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A tactical finale against numbers

The dynamic in the lead group wasn’t straightforward. Two riders from Visma-Lease a Bike against one.

“Having two riders of the same team [with you] is a challenge on the one hand, on the other hand also a bit of a benefit because the work is not necessarily on you. I tried to get rid of them a little bit, but in the end, I had to gamble on the sprint,” Koch said.

She tested the group late, attacking with around 4.5km to go. Vos followed immediately. Ferrand-Prévot came back.

From there, it was always going to Roubaix Velodrome.

One effort left on the track

Inside the velodrome, positioning mattered as much as legs. Koch rode high, then dropped into the slipstream as Ferrand-Prévot led it out.

“I could feel her coming after the corner, and she gets more downhill than me, but I just thought, ‘no, I’m so close now, I have to win’. I just could speed up a little bit more at the end, and I knew it when I threw my bike,” Koch said.

It was enough. Just.

Vos came around, briefly ahead, but Koch held her line and edged it on the throw.