'For me this feels like a win,' says Pfeiffer Georgi after Paris-Roubaix Femmes

It is not often that a rider finishes Paris-Roubaix and speaks of feeling comfortable in the saddle. Normally the order of the day is to exchange tales of woe ranging from blood blisters and sores to bruises and scrapes.

Astonishment was aplenty, then, when dsm-firmenich PostNL's Pfeiffer Georgi heaped praise on her Scott Foil RC in the post-race press conference at Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift.

"I was really comfy today I think, we had a nice suspension in our seatpost, also wider tyres and less pressure obviously than we do for the other cobbled Classics, and even in the recon, for how tough [the cobbles] are, it felt pretty smooth sailing," she told GCN and other members of the media.

An hour or so before, the British rider was the one with a look of surprise, as the day's results were brought up on the big screen inside the Roubaix Velodrome. At first unsure over her position in the final sprint, the official standings revealed that Georgi had pipped Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike) into third place.

Read more:

• Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift – Lotte Kopecky sprints to a narrow victory in the velodrome
• Mixed feelings for Marianne Vos after missing Paris-Roubaix Femmes podium

"I was pretty emotional because for me it feels like a win I think. It is a monumental race, a dream race of mine to win and a big goal of the year, so to get onto the podium is really a lot."

Georgi's result was all the more remarkable for the rider shunted into fourth. Vos is undoubtedly the greatest female rider of all time and looked to be in stellar form for much of Saturday's race, with the Dutchwoman, Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) and Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) the favoured riders heading into the six-up sprint.

The 23-year-old Georgi knew as much and decided to open up her sprint with 300m to go, leaving her more than half a lap of the velodrome to power to the finish. It was a tactical decision from the former track rider, however, and paid dividends in the end.

"I was trying really hard not to get boxed in. I had to go early because I saw them coming and it was going to be a tough challenge to beat them in a sprint, but at the end of Roubaix, anything could happen and I just did a big lunge in the end to get a podium."

Kopecky, the eventual winner, and Balsamo were the two riders who got the better of a fading Georgi in the end, but being sandwich between those two and Vos in the day's standings leaves the Brit in supreme company. With fifth at Trofeo Alfredo Linda and third in today's Paris-Roubaix Femmes, the British national champion has confirmed her place among the elite.

"I think I believed coming into this race that I deserved or belonged in that top group, but it's obviously nice to have that confirmation and reassurance that I am at that level and I think this result shows what I believed I had the potential to do this spring," she said.

Saturday was also a confirmation that the Queen of the Classics is a race that Georgi can win someday, should things fall into place.

In the wheel tracks of Lizzie Deignan, Georgi can be proud

Georgi might be a natural on the cobbles of northern France these days, but the 23-year-old did not always feel so at home on the pavé.

"The first edition was crazy for me, a lot of crashes and bad luck, so I'd kind of maybe wrote it off then," she admitted.

"The last two years, I have come back and had solid results with two top 10s, so I started to get more of a love relationship with it and I think now it is definitely a dream race of mine to win so I'm going to keep coming back and fighting for that bigger cobblestone."

© Getty Images

Georgi was never far from the coattails of the world's best specialists on Saturday

The dsm-firmenich PostNL rider has taken part in all four editions of Paris-Roubaix Femmes to date and whilst her first experience might have been far from enjoyable, it remains a fond memory as a result of Lizzie Deignan's victory.

"I think Lizzie's win was pretty monumental [in] the first edition. She's always been one of my heroes growing up so I think that was a pretty special moment and I think for me to get on the podium, it shows there's a lot of British talent."

To date, Georgi is the only British rider other than Deignan to have finished in the top 10 at Paris-Roubaix Femmes - doing so on the last three occasions - but Saturday's result certainly has the Brit dreaming of taking to the top step of the podium herself one day.

"I think it's really nice to carry forward and for the rest of this year and also for the Classics next year where I hope to make another step up."

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