"If I don't win on Saturday, it won't make my season any less shiny" - World Champion Lotte Kopecky aiming to double up with European Championships gold

On Saturday, the women's elite European Championship road race will take place and heading into the race, World Champion Lotte Kopecky is once again expected to be in and amongst the battle for the gold medal.

Speaking to Het Laatste Nieuws in a pre-race press conference, the Belgian was keen to lower the pressure on her shoulders and play down expectations. "This season is already great. If I don't win on Saturday, it won't make my season any less shiny," says Kopecky. "And if I do win, it will be another goal that I have been able to tick off in my career. After the World Championships I took off the belt for a while, but I continued to train and I was still in good shape in the Simac Tour."

After finishing 5th behind her Team SD Worx teammate Marlen Reusser, in the individual time-trial at the European Championships on Tuesday, Kopecky believes it could be more of her regular season teammates that could provide her biggest challenge on Saturday. Most notably, Lorena Wiebes.

"Lorena has already won the National Championships on this course and is extremely motivated," Kopecky says of the Dutch sprint ace. "In principle, they can aim for the sprint in the Netherlands, but it has often become apparent that they are not always on the same page in the Dutch selection."