Rosa Kloser: The New Fast

In 2025, the German PhD student signed with Canyon, racing both as a gravel privateer and for the CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto road team, and, following a spellbinding season of success – which included eight big wins and the overall Gravel Earth Series crown – she visited Canyon HQ for product testing and a chat.

I like to push my own boundaries – and other people’s too. So I’m always trying to make the race dynamic and active, even if sometimes it would be beneficial for me [to be more conservative]. I’m always excited to race, and for me it’s almost more how I win than just winning – I’ve been more excited by 3rd places than firsts before, because of how I approached the race.

It's really a dream-come-true combination. I learn a lot from my WorldTour team mates – I’ve been lucky enough to race with Kasia [Niewiadoma] who is a great leader in the sense that she is very direct with her demands. For me that was perfect, but maybe it’s just because I’m German! I also think I can take a lot of the tactical aspects of road racing into gravel, which is becoming more and more strategic as the fields are growing in size.

It’s part of my identity that I always strive to research and look for new opportunities. I’m just at the end of researching my PhD, and I’ve taken this similar curious-minded approach to how I analyse my competitors – who I respect and value a lot. I think you have to understand them, and then you can use it to your advantage at the end of a race.

One of my strong points is that I’m able to concentrate for a super long time, so I'm usually able to react well, even after 200 miles of mentally-draining racing. I think this also goes hand-in-hand with why I have a good sprint even at the end of really long races. Mentally, I’m still there, still hyped and not giving up. In order to be in the top ten you need to have the legs, but in order to win you need the mindset too. 

There are so many things you can’t control in these races, moments when you have to deal with adversity and bad luck. To some extent you can control your luck by having a positive mindset and just trying to push forward, however. I was surprised at Roubaix by how the cobblestone sections are easier than expected – the lead into these sectors is the hard part that splits the group. 

I guess I'm the number one athlete to test things! When it comes down to the performance of the bike, of the tyre, etc, I want to be super involved from the start. With Canyon this isn’t just a financial or support partnership for me, this is an R&D-based partnership too. It’s so exciting being part of early testing of new products, and being able to share my two cents to improve their performance.

The first time I jumped on the Grail CFR I could feel that the bike had incredible handling. Its agility, as well as the way it's shaped and the long wheelbase geometry allow you to have amazing stability even on super rough and technical terrain. You really trust the bike, and I think that’s the number one thing to make you faster downhill.

I see it more as others believing that you can actually do it. And if they believe it, why can’t you do it? It’s a positive reinforcement loop. I do a lot of visualisation work, imagining the course, and even seeing myself on the podium. I do this to believe in myself.

Rosa races the Grail CFR AXS on the gravel, and the Aeroad CFR AXS on the road.