Incredible Lotte Kopecky takes thrilling Paris-Roubaix Femmes victory with blistering velodrome sprint
Cycling
Lotte Kopecky has made more history by taking a stunning victory at Paris-Roubaix Femmes in a thrilling final sprint on the historic velodrome.
After Alison Jackson took victory from the breakaway last year, the peloton was still all together with over 80km to go, as the cobbles began.
With 70km to go, Lotte Kopecky took to the front, putting the hammer down on the cobbles and making warning alarms go off for riders further back. Although she couldn't break free, the world champion's acceleration strung things out considerably.
A short while later however, it was the world champion who was on the back foot as a mechanical had her dropping out the back of the peloton and searching for her Team SD Worx - Protime team car.
Having made her way back to the front, with 54km to go, Kopecky again started to set an infernal pace, drawing an elite group of four clear. Kopecky, Marianne Vos, Christina Schweinberger and Pfieffer Georgi.
On the next cobbled sector however, the power of Ellen van Dijk dragged the peloton back to the leading quartet.
Heading into the final 35km, the front of the race had swelled even further as the pace slowed somewhat and riders took a momentary breather.
The next rider to make a difference at the front was Jade Wiel, attacking clear solo and quickly building a lead of around 30 seconds. When the Frenchwoman was caught, van Dijk again made an attack and this time, she was able to create a gap and was joined by Amber Kraak.
Taking matters into her own hands, Kopecky was leading the chase behind and she, Vos and Elisa Balsamo managed to bridge across, with Georgi battling hard to join them. Heading into the final 10km, the British National Champion made contact.
With the leading sextuplet only having around 20 seconds heading into the last 5km, there wasn't much leeway for game-playing.
Into the velodrome and the six leaders still held the advantage. In a thrilling final battle for the line, it was Georgi who opened things but there was no stopping Lotte Kopecky who took the win in style, Balsamo and Georgi completing the podium.
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Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
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- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling forRafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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LOTTE KOPECKY!!! The World Champion wins Paris-Roubaix Femmes 🤩🌈 Chills. #ParisRoubaixFemmes
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