2 vs 1: How did Visma-Lease a Bike lose Paris-Roubaix Femmes?

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It was the perfect race. The type of race a team can only dream of. Two riders – two of the strongest women of all time – up the road with someone who has never won a WorldTour one-day event. Sure, the rider in question has been having the spring campaign of her life, but against the GOAT and the returning champion? Surely it was no contest.

But when Franziska Koch (FDJ United-Suez) outsprinted Marianne Vos to win the sixth edition of Paris-Roubaix Femmes, Visma-Lease a Bike found out you can ride the perfect race and still lose the giant cobble.

The moment things started to shift in Visma-Lease a Bike favour was actually before the race even began, when Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, the 2025 Paris-Roubaix and Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift winner, decided she did want to race this year, after all. Originally, she had planned to sit out this year's edition, but with the recent passing of Vos's father, Ferrand-Prévot decided to lend her power for a historic victory.

"When I knew that her father had passed away, I called the team, and I said I would like to race Paris-Roubaix for Marianne, to try to support Marianne and try to help her in this moment," Ferrand-Prévot said. "I knew it was a dream for her to win, and I just wanted her to win for her father.

"When I turned professional in Rabobank, I was 18 years old, and I spent all winter long in a camper with Vos's family. I have such good memories with them, and for me, today, it was just to say bye to him and to say thank you to him. It's why I wanted Marianne to win today.

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