Lotte Kopecky won Belgian Championships against numbers advantage of other teams: "I never had full control"
Cycling
Lotte Kopecky was clearly the strongest rider at Belgian Road race Championship. The SD Worx rider was on her own, but still managed to control the race and eventually finish calmly as she explains in an interview for WielerFlits.
"In the first part of the race it was not too bad for me, riding against the rest. The large teams mainly rode against each other. So I was able to save quite a bit of strength there," Kopecky said about the first half of the race. Then the chaos broke out. Kopecky had to chase everything down. "For me, it was effort after effort. I couldn't let certain groups ride away."
"Of course I never had full control, but in the end the gaps of the dangerous groups never got bigger than fifteen seconds. That was good. That's why it came down to a sprint. There was some headwind in that last kilometer and I saw Fenix-Deceuninck riders moving forward. I knew I had to be on their wheel," Kopecky did that very well as she held off everyone in a sprint.
"Actually, I believed more in the time trial than the road race. Everything had to go right here and I needed a good day to win. This certainly wasn't easy win." The coming period will be all about the Tour de France Femmes for the Belgian rider. "I will prepare at home, not at a training camp. In the Tour de France we'll mainly ride for Demi Vollering and Lorena Wiebes, so maybe you will often see the Belgian jersey riding at the head of the peloton," Kopecky concluded.
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses 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.
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- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
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- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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