Riejanne Markus knew Lotte Kopecky would be their biggest opponent: "I told Demi: everyone feels bad, except Lotte"
Cycling
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.
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"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."
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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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- I had no idea about that either.
santiagobenites10-11-2026 - great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
- I think some are making much ado about nothing. Even though Jonas is getting older, before his crash in the Tour, he looked like a solid 2nd all the way home. No one can really climb with Tadej until this year, Eric Mas showed himself which I think was a one off year for him and Paul Seixas has been able to be pretty close to him. Whatever stage race Jonas enters as long as Tadej is not there he is a favorite to win.awp10-11-2026
- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
- Me too!!!!!Occam10-11-2026
- they can sign any 100 of top riders today but Pogi will win over Remco any time at the TDF unless something goes wrongabstractengineer10-11-2026
- the time for a GC rider to retire is when they cannot win stages, or have a significant level drop like from winner/podium into top 5/10 consistently. Roglic is still competitive and Froome raced even though he became pack fodder.abstractengineer10-11-2026
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