After switching to FDJ-Suez: Franziska Koch finally wants to finish on a classics podium

It has been a turbulent year, the most successful so far: Franziska Koch has now made a name for herself in the peloton and has gained new strengths. In the summer, the 25-year-old defended her title as German road race champion on a mountainous course in the Palatinate Forest. In autumn, she rode to fifth place at the European Championships on an equally challenging course on the edge of the French Rhone Valley. And so some tasks remain unfinished. For example, she still has a promise to fulfil with the new road world champion. She had promised Magdeleine Vallières a cake if she finished in the top ten at the World Championships in Rwanda. "We agreed on a chocolate cake," says Koch to TOUR. Whether there will be rainbow stripes on top as icing has not yet been decided. The Canadian surprised the cycling world when she finished first solo in Kigali and can now wear the world champion jersey with the rainbow stripes for the next twelve months. For Franziska Koch, this was not quite so surprising. She is good friends with the Canadian, both live in Girona, Spain, for large parts of the year and occasionally train together.

Strong year with fifth place at the European Championships

Koch has a very clear view of things. Now - at the age of 25 - she is slowly getting to where she wants to be. Back in 2019, when she burst onto the scene at a very young age thanks to a stage win at the Boels Ladies Tour and was immediately allowed to compete in the women's elite world championships in Yorkshire, she was seen as an up-and-coming classics specialist. In recent years, however, she has not managed a single international professional victory. Koch was mostly trapped in support roles with her employer, which most recently operated under the name Picnic PostNL. Sometimes in the sprints for the American Megan Jastrab, sometimes for the British classics specialist Pfeiffer Georgi. But she has also become more visible in the finals of races over the last two years. "I had the best form I've ever had. And I got the chance to show it," says Koch in an interview with TOUR. However, there was a lack of great results over the course of the season - before she appeared in the rankings in the autumn: twelfth at the World Championships, fifth at the European Championships. "I surprised myself the most at the European Championships because it was more of a mountain bike course. And yet I came over the climbs with the really good climbers," she emphasises. Until now, she was mainly considered talented for sprints and classics. The maturing process now seems to be over. "It definitely gives me self-confidence to know what I'm capable of," she says, looking to the future.

Light and happy

Why did it go so well? Healthy for a long time, no major crashes, happy and content in his private life. Koch is in a relationship with Canadian professional cyclist Riley Pickrell, who also has a second home in Girona and Andorra. "I've also become a bit lighter, which helps on the climbs," emphasises Koch, who climbs visibly better than in the past. What's more: "I've matured, I've grown up," she says. Good genes are common in the Koch family: Mum Petra took part in the Tour de France in the 1980s. Franziska's brother Michel, who is nine years older, was a professional rider for Team Cannondale for two years.

Aggressive driving style at FDJ-SUEZ

For the coming season, she will change teams for the first time in her professional career. She will then ride for the French team FDJ - SUEZ - the contract will initially run for two years. There she will ride alongside world number one Demi Vollering and top French riders Evita Muzic and Juliette Labous. The latter has already been a team-mate in the past, and Koch visited her to find out more about her future employer before making the switch. "I always thought their aggressive riding style was very cool. And the team has very nice girls," she says about FDJ - SUEZ. Realistically, she can realise ambitious goals there. Team leader Vollering has already won the Tour de France once (2023) and finished second three times (2022, 2024 and 2025). "It would be mega cool to be part of the Tour de France winning team," says Koch. In a support role, of course.

The goals: Classics podium and German championship title

But she also wants to achieve strong personal results. "It would be a dream to be on the podium in a classic," she looks ahead, "and it's a personal goal to win the German champion's jersey for a third time." She counts the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, where she has already finished seventh, among her favourite races. And the success of her friend Magdeleine Vallières has whetted her appetite for more - and not just for baking cakes: "It would be really cool to become world champion one day."