Franziska Koch retained her German national road race title with a superb solo victory in Linden, overcoming a heavily stacked Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto trio in the finale to make it two titles in a row.
The Picnic PostNL rider was isolated in the lead group against Antonia Niedermaier, Rosa Klöser and Justyna Czapla, but made her move stick on the final uphill drag, distancing her rivals and crossing the line 14 seconds ahead of Niedermaier. Klöser took third at 43 seconds, with Czapla just off the podium in fourth.
The 118km race was defined by constant aggression on the hilly circuit, which gradually wore down the peloton and split the race into pieces. Koch had initially escaped with Niedermaier before Klöser and Czapla bridged across to give Canyon-SRAM a 3-to-1 numerical advantage heading into the final phase.
Despite the odds, Koch stayed calm and waited for her moment. On the last uphill section of the circuit, she launched a perfectly timed attack that none of her rivals could follow. From there, it was a solo effort to the finish to repeat her 2024 triumph, when she had beaten Liane Lippert in a two-up sprint.
“Being able to defend the title makes me speechless,” Koch posted on social media after the win. “So happy to wear the stripes for another year! Thanks to my family for the support to make it happen.”
For Niedermaier, who had hoped to add a second title to her 2025 time trial win, it was a day of near-misses. “Today was not super satisfying,” she said afterwards. “We tried everything to win this road race. Unfortunately, there was someone stronger than us. We played all the cards we had and really fought, but in the end, she was better.”
She praised her teammates for their aggressive racing throughout the day, adding, “I’m proud of how the other girls raced – Joëlle and Jule were so confident and so good. It was nice to see that with everyone, we could race really well as a team.”
Despite their control over the race, Canyon-SRAM couldn’t break Koch, whose finishing kick proved decisive once again. Lippert, racing for Movistar, finished fifth at nearly five minutes down, underscoring the dominance of the front group.
2025 German National Championship result
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Main photo credit: Arne Mill
