Franziska Koch: Everything cycling fans need to know about the first German Roubaix winner
Andreas Kublik
· 13.04.2026
She was already regarded as a great talent for the spring classics when she made her professional debut in 2019: Franziska Koch, who made her debut at a professional world championship at the tender age of 19. After many years with her first professional team Picnic PostNL, she moved to FDJ-Suez in France at the start of the season and visibly blossomed. With third place at Strade Bianche, where she beat team-mate Elise Chabbey, she showed that she has finally arrived at the top of the world. Now the 25-year-old professional cyclist has celebrated by far the greatest success of her career.
The greatest success
After the thrilling sprint to the finish against Dutch rider Marianne Vos in the Roubaix velodrome, Koch celebrated the biggest success of her career. She had previously only won three times: in her debut year as a professional in 2019 on a stage of the Boels Ladies Tour in the Netherlands and twice as German road race champion in 2025 and 2025. Her best result at Paris-Roubaix was seventh place in 2021.
She comes from a cycling family
The name Koch stands for several successful male and female cyclists. Mum Petra took part in the women's Tour de France twice under her maiden name Stegherr in 1985 and 1987, finishing the stage race in twelfth place the first time she took part. Her mum was also twelfth in the 1983 World Championships, while her brother Michel Koch, who is nine years older, rode professionally for Italian racing team Cannondale in 2013 and 2014. However, he did not receive a new contract after two years and had to end his career, despite being one of the biggest German talents of his age group. His father Christian also raced as an amateur.
Place of residence: From Mettmann to Girona
Like many professional cyclists, Koch now lives in Girona, a city of 108,000 inhabitants in north-east Spain. An international cycling community has formed there. Lance Armstrong lived there when he was active.
His partner is also a professional cyclist
The German shares her passion and profession of cycling with her boyfriend. Riley Pickrell is Canadian and rides for former pro and Lance Armstrong buddy George Hincapie's pro team Modern Adventure Pro Cycling. The 24-year-old was previously under contract with Team Israel-Premier Tech. In contrast to his girlfriend, he has had rather minor successes to date. As a professional, he won two stages of the Sibiu Tour in Romania. Pickrell received his sweetheart in the velodrome - he had previously abandoned the men's race.
Sleepless in Mettmann
The Roubaix winner didn't get to bed until 4.30am. After the triumph in France, a team-mate took the German to the German border, where her parents picked her up and took her to her parents' house in Mettmann. The family had followed their daughter's success live at home.
The winner becomes a helper again
According to Franziska Koch, there won't be much partying after her historic success. She wants to capitalise on her form. The Amstel Gold Race is on her schedule for next Sunday. There, she expects to slip back into a helper role for team captain Demi Vollering. The 2023 Tour de France winner is the number one rider for Equipe FDJ-SUEZ in the classic in her home country of the Netherlands and can be rated more highly than Koch on climbs such as the Limburg hills.
Versatility as a trump card
At Paris-Roubaix, Koch also benefited from the versatility she was taught at a young age. She rode track races and utilised this experience on the one and a half final laps of the Roubaix cycling stadium. She also competed on her mountain bike - rough surfaces such as the cobblestones are not an unfamiliar challenge for her.
The team change as a decisive impulse
It's hard to believe, but the young German is already in her eighth year as a professional. At Team Sunweb, DSM and Picnic-PostNL, she developed her talent slowly - she rarely got the chance to show her skills. At the beginning of the year, she switched to the French team FDJ-SUEZ, where she was seen as having great potential and was expected to play a leading role in important races. Throughout the past spring, the German champion showed that she can ride at the front in the most important cycling races.
Desire for big victories
The almost eternal talent's first major international victory has whetted her appetite for more. She let the German media know the day after that it would not be her last victory in the race through the "Hell of the North". And she would also like to become world champion. "You have to believe in your dreams" - that's her credo. Now everyone knows: she doesn't just dream, she makes her dreams come true.
Andreas Kublik
Editor
