Lotte Kopecky begins her journey to the Tour de France Femmes at Milano-Sanremo: "I hope that the number of kilometres will do its job"
Cycling
Lotte Kopecky, the double world champion, is set to begin
her season this weekend at Milano-Sanremo, a race making its long-awaited debut
in women's cycling. Speaking to Wieler Revue, Kopecky shared her thoughts on
the evolving dynamics within the peloton, the shifting balance of power, and
the excitement surrounding the inaugural women's edition of La Primavera.
One of the most noticeable changes in women’s cycling this
season has been the greater balance among teams, moving away from the dominance
of Team SD Worx – Protime seen in previous years. While SD Worx had been the overwhelming
force in recent seasons, Kopecky acknowledges that the new balance could be
beneficial for the sport overall.
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"I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be really
interesting to see how all that plays out against each other. I think it could
be a really good year for women's cycling. The quality is much more evenly
distributed across all the teams, and that's going to result in some really
great races. In a way, it was nice that we were the dominant team of course,
but for the bigger picture, this is better."
Kopecky admits that there were races in the past where she
felt SD Worx was nearly untouchable, but she recognizes that this era of near inevitability
is now over.
"There have certainly been races where I thought: a lot
has to go wrong for it not to be for us today. That time is over now. I am
still well surrounded in the Flemish classics. We lose Demi and Reusser. But he
didn't race much last year anyway. We have to keep focusing on ourselves, and I
think we still have a very strong, qualitative team."
Despite losing key riders like Demi Vollering and Marlen
Reusser, Kopecky remains confident in the strength of her team, particularly in
the Flemish classics, where she has consistently been one of the strongest
contenders.
Beyond the shift in team dynamics, one of the biggest
developments this year is the introduction of a women's Milano-Sanremo, an
addition that has been long overdue. For a race with such rich history and
prestige, finally having a women's edition is a major milestone for the sport.
However, Kopecky believes there is still room for improvement when it comes to the
length and overall challenge of the race.
"It's definitely fun. In a way, I think it's a shame
that the number of kilometres isn't that long. The final will probably be the
same, but I also hope that the number of kilometres will do its job. Then the
race would have the same character as the men's. As far as I'm concerned, that
race could be 200 kilometres. Then the difference on the Poggio would be made
easier."
Kopecky’s call for a longer race highlights an ongoing
debate in women’s cycling: how to ensure parity with the men’s calendar without
simply replicating every race in the same way. In short, how can the women’s
peloton be unique whilst also sharing the same legendary routes as the men?
As she prepares for her season opener, Kopecky finds herself
at the centre of a sport in transition, with new team dynamics, fresh
rivalries, and historic races being introduced. While SD Worx may no longer
dominate by default, she remains one of the strongest and most versatile riders
in the peloton, making her a key contender in any major race she enters.
Of course, there is an extra dynamic for the double world
champion this year…the Tour de France Femmes. This year we will see Kopecky target
the yellow jersey, but will her new GC ambitions impact her classics ability?
Fin MajorCycling Journalist
Fin Major is a UK-based writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2024. He is the site’s main writer for FAQs and evergreen explainers and has written around 2,000 pieces for the platform. Alongside this work, he focuses on in-depth analysis and covers the biggest races on the calendar, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, providing clear context around performance trends, tactics, and key storylines.
In his reporting, Fin uses reputable data sources such as ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. Outside of writing, Fin is an active cyclist, which supports his practical understanding of the sport and its demands.
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- Just looked again at the photo. Yeah I stand by that. If MS had fallen over in Brands direction I don’t even think she would have hit her. You must be a UCI race commissioner. I’ll be sure to check my sock height should I ever see you on a ride. Looks like everyone else on here sees what I see.mij08-11-2026
- I said looking at the photo it doesn’t appear she deviated. Chill out, not stating my word is the final judgement. Just commenting that based on the photo I don’t see it. And BTW the Dutch coach even said she didn’t impede her.mij08-11-2026
- Blah Blah Blah !frieders308-11-2026
- MS said she was changing gears so that caused her slight deviation. Nothing was intentional.frieders308-11-2026
- How can you use a photo post incident to judge the incident itself (which is not hard to find if you’re prepared to invest the same amount of time in searching as writing that comment? It’s harsh but technically right even though this or worse is not always sanctioned in every race. The two things that went against MS (who unfortunately for her would still have won without making her mistake) are that it was not a bunch sprint where there could have been an overlooked incident or mitigating circumstances explaining a deviation. Everything was focused on just those 2, Schreiber was riding beautifully balanced which made her sudden deviation look unnatural stroke as if it could have been in some part intentional whilst she was slowly drifting ever closer towards the barrier to a point that would have reached obstruction level. In her defence, it might have been the realisation she was heading towards that that made her react suddenly and caused the deviation involuntarily. In any case, congratulations to her for the ride of her life, in people’s minds she will be credited for it.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
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santiagobenites07-11-2026 - Seriously why do they keep doing stupid things like this. Its one thing to relegate when the placings are minor, when the action is blatant. But when it is ambiguous, why dont they at least take advice from some higher up to avoid embarrassing themselves. This is similar to the Halland goal when his teammate was clearly offside and interfered in play and VAR gave them the goal. if you dont have evidence you cannot convict. Even for doping they have these rulesabstractengineer07-11-2026
- So all those who went to watch, including all from abroad, waled there, spent nothing? Most places hosting events of the sort manage to make it worthwhile. If it was so obviously fruitless, don’t you think by now they’d have run out of hosting candidates? Why do you think the Tour can command such high prices for departure and arrival locations? If it didn’t bring anything locally they’d have to pay to get authorisation to use cities.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- What a travesty ! That little deviation did nothing to impede Brand !frieders307-11-2026
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