Franziska Koch, who had been tipped as a medal contender, fell well short of securing her second medal at the Road Cycling World Championships in Montreal. The 26-year-old Roubaix winner finished tenth after 180.1 kilometres and 2,570 metres of climbing, 5 minutes and 51 seconds behind the new world champion, Demi Vollering of the Netherlands. Silver went to Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney from Poland, whilst bronze was won by the Italian Elisa Longo Borghini.
This means that the bronze medal won by Koch in the individual time trial is likely to remain German Cycling’s only success. Although the German team is represented by Florian Lipowitz in the men’s road race, the 26-year-old is unlikely to be fit enough to secure a top placing following his crash in the Tour de France two months ago.
In Koch and Liane Lippert, the German team had two riders who are well suited to the gruelling final lap with its three climbs. Koch had had a strong season so far and had shown good form in the individual time trial. Lippert had often performed well at World Championships in the past, finishing fourth in 2022 and 2024. Furthermore, the 28-year-old is a stronger climber than Koch, which proved particularly advantageous on the approximately two-kilometre-long climb up Mont Royal.
A serious crash causes the field to thin out
As the race entered its final laps, the German team was fully focused. When a serious crash occurred at the front of the field 95 kilometres from the finish, Koch, Lippert and Antonia Niedermaier were ideally positioned at the front. Caroline Andersson from Sweden and Lauretta Hanson from Australia were taken to hospital for observation.
The defending champion, Magdeleine Vallieres from Canada, the World Championship runner-up Niamh Fisher-Black from New Zealand, Kim le Court from Mauritius and the top Spanish talent Paula Blasi, however, were all involved in the crash – their chances of a medal were gone. “When we got onto the circuit, things went haywire. People were taking far too many risks,” said Blasi after she withdrew.
Vollering’s attack lands
The Dutch team, led by top favourite Demi Vollering, set the pace in the leading group – now reduced to just 40 riders – and initially prevented any attacks. However, on the fourth-last lap, around 50 kilometres from the finish, the attacks began to come thick and fast, and Team Oranje found it increasingly difficult to control the race. The French rider Maeva Squiban managed to break away by a good half a minute.
With three laps to go, the race really kicked off. Puck Pieterse climbed Mont Royal at full throttle, whilst her team-mate Vollering launched an attack. Lippert and Niedermaier were immediately left behind; Koch initially managed to hang on in Vollering’s eight-strong chasing group, but then lost contact and was left to fend for herself. With that, all hopes of a medal were dashed.
Just as it looked as though Vollering was set for a commanding victory, Longo Borghini, Niewiadoma-Phinney and Juliette Berthet caught up with her on the penultimate lap. As the final bell rang, Longo Borghini launched an attack, but was left behind by Vollering and Niewiadoma-Phinney on the long climb. In the sprint, the Dutch rider ultimately proved the stronger.
Copyright 2026, dpa (www.dpa.de). All rights reserved
