PARIS — German Franziska Koch edged out cycling great Marianne Vos to win the Paris-Roubaix Femmes one-day classic.
The 25-year-old claimed the biggest victory of her career as she outfoxed Visma-Lease-a-bike teammates Vos and last year’s champion Pauline Ferrand-Prevot in a three-up sprint to the line, AFP reported.
“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,” said Koch.
“Having two riders of the same team (against 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.”
Ferrand-Prevot tried to set up her illustrious teammate for the victory, but Koch launched her sprint first and held off Vos by half a wheel to win.
It was a cruel defeat for former world and Olympic champion Vos, whose father died just over a week ago.
“I tried to focus as much as possible on race itself,” said the 38-year-old Vos, who admitted that the loss of her father had hit her hard.
“Of course we miss him, just calling, having a small WhatsApp or picture or whatever.
“In the end, you just try and focus on what you need to do – it’s what I always do.”
Four riders had broken clear with 45km to ride in the gruelling 143km-long cobbled classic.
Hungarian Blanka Vas was dropped after an acceleration by Vos, which also briefly distanced Ferrand-Prevo zho dug in to reach the famous old velodrome in Roubaix alongside Vos and Koch.
She tried to lead out the sprint to help Vos, but Koch proved too strong.
