It shouldn’t be be a shock when Lotte Kopecky wins a motorcycle race. The 28-year-old has gained 47 of them throughout her profession, together with seven particular person time trials earlier than Wednesday. Nonetheless, to win so dominantly at an elite TT, as she did this week on the European Championships, hints that there are greater issues to come back for the Belgian.
She was not the favorite coming into the race, with former world champion Ellen van Dijk and Riejanne Markus each on the beginning record, however ended up profitable from Van Dijk by 43 seconds on an extremely flat course. It was a press release win, and one which places her into the equation for victory on the World Championships in a fortnight.
Likewise, victory on the Tour de Romandie final weekend was not Kopecky’s first common classification victory – she has six now, together with the UAE Tour and the Tour of Britain Girls this yr – however it was the primary with a correctly powerful route, and a correctly powerful subject, together with her teammate (quickly to be ex-teammate), Demi Vollering.
Within the three-stage race, Kopecky didn’t win a stage, however picked up bonus seconds on every day to high the GC by six seconds from Vollering. On stage two, we had been handled to the sight of Vollering and Kopecky sprinting in opposition to one another, two teammates apparently forgoing all sense of collective work within the intention of particular person glory. It isn’t the primary time this has occurred, when you solid your thoughts again to Strade Bianche in 2023, however it was probably the most stark proof of the budding rivalry which can burst into motion subsequent yr.
Kopecky is a rider who can just about do all the pieces, other than win a pure bunch dash. It has appeared like Vollering and Kopecky are completely different sorts of riders, the previous extra of a climber, the latter extra of a puncheur, however there may be not as a lot specialisation in girls’s biking, and so, greater than typically, the pair are preventing for a similar wins. Freed from the shackles of being on the identical workforce, the duel is perhaps all of the extra widespread, which is an attractive prospect. The identical pair might be one-two on the Tour of Flanders or the Tour de France.
Whereas Vollering has extra GC expertise, with victories on the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift and La Vuelta Femenina, amongst others, Kopecky will not be one million miles behind. She completed second at this yr’s Giro d’Italia Girls, simply 21 seconds behind Elisa Longo Borghini, and was second on the Tour final yr, behind Vollering, though the hole was greater at 3:03. Vollering stays the rider to beat within the mountains, on these Alpine or Pyrenean prolonged climbs at altitude, however it isn’t past Kopecky to enhance. There may be little that she has proved herself incapable of so far.
That’s the place the outcomes on the Europeans and the Tour de Romandie go away us. Kopecky ought to have full backing at SD Worx-Protime subsequent yr, regardless of the return of Anna van der Breggen, and her change right into a GC rider is a tantalising prospect. Vollering, wherever she finally ends up, stands in her manner, however one ought to by no means wager in opposition to Kopecky. Roll on 2025.
