Riejanne Markus knew Lotte Kopecky would be their biggest opponent: "I told Demi: everyone feels bad, except Lotte"

Riejanne Markus managed to drag ninth place out of the fire at the World Cycling Championships in Glasgow after a good race. The Jumbo-Visma rider was mainly looking forward to some rest after the championship, as it has been a long period from the Dutch National Championships to the World Championships.

Markus saw the Dutch leader Demi Vollering finish second behind his teammate Lotte Kopecky. "There was nothing to be done against Kopecky. I already told Demi during the race: the only one you have to keep an eye on is Lotte. You just notice that everyone is having a hard time after the Tour and that there was little energy. I also noticed that in myself, so I also told Demi: everyone feels bad, except Lotte," she explains.

"We hoped to use our surplus, but you also have to be strong enough for that," Markus pointed out. "We have tried that a number of times, but Lotte is also so explosive that she is always on the wheel. This was what we were a little afraid of. Lorena Wiebes was also no longer there, that would have been someone we could keep use."

"Lotte was the top favourite, of course we knew that. Demi wasn't 110 percent, I think. We told each other that whoever was mentally strongest would win. Everyone felt bad, no one had it easy. It was so hard, man," Markus puffs out visibly. "It ended up breaking everyone up."