"If I responded, another Dutch person would come" - No chance of victory for Lotte Kopecky at European Championships

Lotte Kopecky was one of the big favourites for today's European Championships road race on the women's side, but she was no match the collective force that was the Netherlands. After finishing third on the day, the World Champion felt like it would be hard to improve on that result.

"The wind only came up in the last two laps. They took advantage of that, although they (the Dutch, ed.) could make the race even harder," Kopecky said in a post-race interview, appreciating the work of her outnumbered Belgian teammates: “It was just good. They sat where they were supposed to sit and attentively followed important riders. They have done the maximum, I am very proud of that."

What the Team SD Worx rider could do at the World Championships was not the case this afternoon in the Netherlands, where the home team managed to once again take advantage of their depth to race into an important victory. However, with the World Champion stripes on her back, it does not bother Kopecky too much. "Last season should not become a standard. We have to realize that it was very exceptional."

With no response to Mischa Bredewold's attack, the win was gone. The fight for second place would come down to a sprint as all moves by rival national teams - except that of Emma Norsgaard - were tightly covered by the teammates of the new European Champion. Kopecky saw her Team SD Worx attack, counter-attack, cover each others' attacks, leadout and even sprint. She looked to have the upper hand in the final sprint against Lorena Wiebes, but was beaten to the line.

The win was almost possible as Bredewold was chased by her own teammates, but in the end a bronze medal was the best there was for Kopecky at the end of the day. "I look back on it with mixed feelings. Achieving a podium finish is always nice."

"When Bredewold rode away, I didn't have many options but to stay put. If I responded, another Dutch person would come on. The story would remain the same. Either I pushed hard for second place, or I did nothing and gambled. In the end I was beaten on the finish line by Wiebes, so it was definitely for second place."