"I think it's very logical that Lorena is the leader" - Lotte Kopecky, Demi Vollering and Lorena Wiebes analyze each other's chances ahead of Olympic race

In both men's and women's Olympic road race, a big showdown between traditional powerhouses, Belgium and Netherlands, are expected. And while in men's race it'll be Belgians with numbers advantage, the card will turn around in women's race, where an internal battle of SD Worx - Protime will unfold. It'll be up to world champion Lotte Kopecky to handle Dutch super team with leader Lorena Wiebes, who'll have the support of stars Demi Vollering and Marianne Vos.

Speaking to WielerFlits, Vollering doesn't mind letting her SD Worx teammate Lorena Wiebes take the leadership. "Of course, it's not necessarily my course. I think it's very logical that Lorena is the leader, because if you take her to the finish line, you can be almost certain that you'll get a very good result in return."

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Should Kopecky then base her race around the actions of top favorite Lorena Wiebes? "No, that would be very stupid. I would prefer to get rid of her, but I am not going to start with the thought: today my goal is to get rid of Lorena," Kopecky assures. Still, it's obvious the Belgian favourite will have to keep an eye on the Dutch sprinter and arriving to the line together doesn't seem like a winning tactic.

Wiebes admits that knowing Kopecky views her among main opponents puts a smile on her face, as "that is a great compliment. My goal is to hang on to it as long as possible. I see Lotte as one of the main competitors in that. Especially because the course is somewhat reminiscent of the street circuit of the World Championship in Glasgow with twists and turns where she won the world title last year."

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But it's not like the Dutch team enters only with 'plan Wiebes'. "Yes, of course. You can’t just have a plan A. We have to have multiple plans. For me, it has to be a perfect race that ends in a sprint. But along the way, anything can go wrong. So much can happen."

After all it would be a waste to completely restrict champions such as Demi Vollering and Marianne Vos. "That's why it's great that we have several girls with Demi and Marianne who can finish off the race. We can play multiple trump cards and we have only one main goal: Winning gold with the Netherlands."

How does Vollering view her own chances in case the race situation develops favorably? "Lorena is the ideal lightning rod for me, but it is also good for her if I ride ahead. Then I have a chance. Perhaps other riders will say: rather with Demi to the finish than Lorena coming back. I think it works the other way around. It is very nice that you have each other like that."

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