{"id":527621,"date":"2026-04-12T23:57:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T23:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/527621\/"},"modified":"2026-04-12T23:57:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T23:57:10","slug":"i-dont-know-what-to-feel-yet-heartbroken-marianne-vos-attempts-to-come-to-terms-with-agonising-paris-roubaix-defeat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/527621\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I don’t know what to feel yet’ \u2013 Heartbroken Marianne Vos attempts to come to terms with agonising Paris-Roubaix defeat"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI don\u2019t know what to feel yet,\u201d said Marianne Vos<\/a> as she exited the Stab Velodrome, the indoor venue just across the road from the outdoor track, where a golden opportunity to win Paris-Roubaix Femmes<\/a> had just slipped through her fingers. Her press conference had taken place well over an hour after the finish of the race, and although she insisted that \u201ctomorrow will be Monday again\u201d, you sense it will take a good while longer to process this one.<\/p>\n

Vos was crestfallen at the finish line. The sinking devastation was writ large in eyes that welled with tears. There were smiles, and there were positives and pride to be taken, but the disappointment came in waves, and there were several moments where she struggled to fight back the tears.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This was a gut punch because the race, one that was only created late in her illustrious career and one she\u2019d so dearly love to conquer before it\u2019s all done, was in the palm of her hand. Visma-Lease a Bike had a two-on-one advantage in the finale, Vos joined by teammate and defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Pr\u00e9vot as they took on Franzisca Koch. Even when Vos entered the velodrome with Koch, she was heavily favoured to finish fastest, but the German pulled off one of the big shocks of recent memory<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Article continues below <\/p>\n

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And then there was the underlying emotion, which was always going to seep out. Vos\u2019 father died last week<\/a>, and it was doubtful whether she\u2019d be here at all, let alone in a position to win the race.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe miss him, calling him, having small WhatsApp messages, or a picture, or whatever. But in a way\u2026 you just try and focus on what you have to do,\u201d Vos said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just wanted to try and make the best of the preparation under the circumstances. I was also just very happy to be here because it\u2019s one of the most beautiful races of the season. Even though I knew it might not be the perfect preparation, I just wanted to give everything I had today.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s an in-between feeling, which is a weird feeling. Maybe one day it will be closer to one or another. I don\u2019t know what to feel yet.”<\/p>\n

Tactics<\/p>\n

\n

\"Pauline\n<\/p>\n

Pauline Ferrand-Pr\u00e9vot, Franziska Koch and Marianne Vos on the roads to Roubaix (Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The disappointment was tinged with a slight sense of regret in terms of how the race played out tactically.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look back, there\u2019s always things you can do differently. That\u2019s bike racing. You have to make decisions on the spot, in the moment,\u201d Vos said.<\/p>\n

Two teammates occupying the bottom steps of the podium is never the greatest look, and it was notable that the Visma duo, with the chasers over a minute behind inside the last 10 kilometres, did not try to work over Koch with a series of one-two punches.<\/p>\n

What to read next<\/p>\n

Ferrand-Pr\u00e9vot did attack after coming back from being dropped late on, but otherwise, they leaned heavily on setting up a sprint for Vos.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a conscious decision not to do that, to save the legs for the sprint. But in the end, it was still not enough,\u201d Vos told Cyclingnews after the podium ceremony.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was Pauline\u2019s own decision. She was really all-in [for me]. I\u2019m very thankful for her dedication and her help. That\u2019s an extra reason, so I feel a bit sorry for the team and for her. But she was the first one to say we should be proud of what we did, so I\u2019ll try and see it that way too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once in the velodrome, Vos, whose finishing speed has won her countless races in the past, allowed Koch to open the sprint and looked to be overhauling her before the German found a final kick to win it by an agonisingly tight margin.<\/p>\n

“Maybe in hindsight, we should have done things differently, but I’ve also been starting my sprint too early here [in the past]. Every year is a learning year,\u201d Vos told the TV cameras.<\/p>\n

“Of course, it’s not a normal sprint. It’s after a hard race, after these cobbled sections. It’s just the one who has the best legs left. It wasn’t me today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through the digestion of all the post-race emotion, Vos, classy to a fault, repeatedly praised Koch, ensuring she was painted not as a shock winner but a completely worthy one.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s also good to recognise how strong she was. She just found that out herself, I think,\u201d Vos said.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe attacked herself on the last uphill part, and she dropped Pauline there, and then she did an amazing finish. We saw a fantastic bike rider today winning Paris-Roubaix.\u201d<\/p>\n

Get unlimited access to our unrivalled 2026 Spring Classics coverage with a Cyclingnews subscription. We’ll bring you breaking news, reports, and analysis from some of the biggest races on the calendar, including Milan-San Remo, Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders. Find out more.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI don\u2019t know what to feel yet,\u201d said Marianne Vos as she exited the Stab Velodrome, the indoor…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":527622,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-527621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-cycling","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=527621"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527621\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/527622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=527621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=527621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=527621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}