Franziska Koch

Having spent four years with the team so far and gained a lot of experience, Franziska is still a young rider in the grand scheme of things, but her outgoing and talkative nature makes her a friendly face within the team’s camp.

Coming to the sport through her family, it seemed she was destined to compete on two-wheels with her parents racing to various successes, including World Championship action for her mum, while her brother, Michel, was also a professional for several years. As an active child, Franziska did do a lot of other sports as well such as swimming, running and athletics but she “outgrew them” and decided that cycling was really what she wanted to do.

An adventure and nature lover, it was the ability to go wherever you want and the “freedom” feeling that you get on a bike that really hooked Franziska, compared to swimming for example where “you can only go up and down for 50 metres.”, she jokes. It’s no surprise then that Franziska feels at home in the mountains where she likes to go on walks and in fact, being on top of a mountain is one of her “happiest places”. Scrolling through her Instagram it also becomes apparent how much she “loves sunsets” so watching a sunset atop a mountain would be “the dream day” for Franziska!

A reflective person, looking back on her opening few years as a pro Franziska learned a lot about who she is as an athlete but also as a human being.

Gaining a lot of self-confidence and becoming more assured in herself, Franziska thinks she has “grown up alongside the team” and that she is on the path that she wants to be and that things are going to plan. Of course, she “dreams of winning big” but can see that with the team she is coming closer to that goal because she has learned how to race.

“The knowledge of how to win a race is there, it’s just about getting the physical strength to do so but with the team I’m on the way.”

Taking a further introspective look, Franziska would describe herself as “focused”, “spontaneous” and “optimistic”. The first one, she says is obvious, but when she has a goal, she is really driven and motivated on achieving it, but the spontaneity helps her to overcome any challenges and find any new ways to achieve that goal. Likewise, that optimistic attitude always allows her to remain positive if there is a bump in the road, so to say, so she can get back to chasing her dreams.

Away from the bike you can often find her hunting beautiful sunsets, going to cafés with friends, vibing out while cooking her favourite meals or getting stuck into her latest book. One of which she really enjoyed recently was “The Tattooist of Auschwitz” which Franziska “highly recommends”. Embracing her quirky side, Franziska’s hidden talent is that she can “chug really hot tea” so at those café rides she’s often left drink-less waiting for her friends to finish!