“It’s not that easy to go outside without getting recognised” - Lotte Kopecky on her celebrity status and the growth of women’s cycling in Belgium

Having taken the victory at Paris-Roubaix in the rainbow bands of World Champion on Saturday, Lotte Kopecky once again reaffirmed her status as the best rider in women’s cycling at the moment after a disappointing race the weekend prior at the Ronde van Vlaanderen.

Having already won De Ronde twice in her career, as well as two editions of Strade Bianche Donne, the points classification at the Tour de France Femmes and the World Championship Road Race in Glasgow, it is clear to see how Lotte Kopecky’s star status within the sport has helped to grow women’s cycling in Belgium.

However, being a celebrity does take its toll, as Kopecky said in a recent interview with Cycling Weekly that “now, everybody is recognising me. It’s not that easy to go outside without getting recognised, or without people asking me for a selfie. Even when I’m riding on my bike, people ask me to stop to get a selfie”.

On her role models growing up, the SD Worx-Protime said “when I was younger, I didn’t have any female examples. It was the time of Tom Boonen and Fabian Cancellara, and if there was one woman I knew, it was Marianne Vos. She was the only one who got a bit of attention. But that was it, actually”.

However, Kopecky is glad that she can help inspire to get more girls on bikes, as she said “it’s nice to be an example for those young girls. If, in the future, we can have lots of Belgian girls, or even from other countries, who start riding a bike because of me, because of us, I think it’s only nice. I’m proud to have them watching and to inspire them”.