Pfeiffer Georgi credits setup on her Scott Foil RC for Paris-Roubaix Femmes podium ride
British rider took third behind Lotte Kopecky and Elisa Balsamo after a thrilling sprint finish in the velodrome on Saturday
Pfeiffer Georgi gave the setup on her team issue Scott Foil some of the credit for her podium ride at Paris-Roubaix Femmes on Saturday.
After a barnstorming sprint finish in the Roubaix velodrome, Georgi grabbed third behind the race winner, Lotte Kopecky, and Lidl-Trek’s Elisa Balsamo.
Standing on the edge of the track, the Londoner’s face exploded with joy when confirmation of her podium finish flashed across the big screens inside the arena.
Earlier in the day, Cycling Weekly spotted an interesting addition to her bike, a Duncan SL Aero Comfort seat post, specially designed to absorb vibrations. Later on, when speaking to the media, Georgi praised her equipment setup and explained that it had helped her secure a podium finish.
"I was really comfy today," she said. "We had a nice suspension in our seatpost, wider tyres and less pressure than we do for the other cobbled classics. Even in the recon, considering how tough they are, it actually was pretty smooth sailing on the cobbles.
"I had full confidence in my bike, we’ve got great tyres as I had a little puncture but it actually sealed itself really early on. I had no problems later so I had full confidence in my materials and it got me to the podium."
Throughout the brutal day on the pavé, Georgi held her own alongside some of the biggest stars of women’s cycling. Georgi was ever present at the head of race alongside Kopecky, Marianne Vos and other star riders on the Lidl-Trek team.
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The 23-year-old explained that simply believing she belonged in the front group helped her hold her own alongside the world champion and ensured she could land a positive result in the final sprint for the line.
"I think I believed coming into this race that i belonged in that top group," she said. "So I had a lot of confidence coming in. But it's nice to get that confirmation that I am at that level and belonged in that top group. So these results show what I believed before which was that I had the potential to do this in this spring period.
"So yeah, I think it's nice to carry that forward for the rest of this year and next where I can make even more of a step up."
Much of the headlines in recent months have been based around the plight of the British domestic scene. Georgi said that her result in Roubaix was proof that the scene was still alive and that she hoped it could inspire future generations to come, as Lizzie Deignan’s victory had inspired her.
"Lizzie’s win here was monumental," she said. "She's always been one of my heroes growing up so that was a special moment back then. I think with me getting on the podium, I think it shows that there's a lot of British talent and in recent years there’s been a lot of riders stepping up to the WorldTour which is really nice to see.
"At that time, I didn't really know what sort of rider I was,” she added. “It was so exciting that we finally had this on our calendar. It’s really great to have such high profile calendars on our events like Roubaix and the Tour de France.
"At first I didn’t know if it would suit me, the first edition was pretty crazy for me, lots of crashes and bad luck…The last couple of years I’ve come back and got great results with two top ten finishes so I started to get a bit more of a better relationship with this race."
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Tom has been writing for Cycling Weekly since 2022 and his news stories, rider interviews and features appear both online and in the magazine.
Since joining the team, he has reported from some of professional cycling's biggest races and events including the Tour de France and the World Championships in Glasgow. He has also covered races elsewhere across the world.
As well as on the ground reporting, Tom writes race reports from the men's and women's WorldTour and helps with coverage of UK domestic cycling.
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