"Those numbers were easily achievable" - Lotte Kopecky wins European Championships time-trial with comfort

The European Championships have begun today for the Elites and in the time-trial event, there was a woman above the rest. It was a tricky time-trial in Hasselt with flat roads but a lot of wind and direction changes to handle; and Kopecky had the perfect strategy to take the title and another jersey into his palmarès.

“Enjoyed is a big word, but it is very nice. In this case, I have to thank my coach who drew up a pace plan at the [Olympic] Games and here," Kopecky said in a post-race interview. "It is a very realistic plan, but those numbers were easily achievable. I still had some reserve myself, so it was a very nice time trial where I could ride the power that was set.”

In the first intermediate sprint she had only a few seconds of lead over both Ellen van Dijk and Christina Schweinberger; in the second intermediate it grew but it was in the final split where the reigning World road race champion made the difference. With several of the world's top time-trialists not present (the entire podium of the Olympic Games are part of teams that aren't present), she took full advantage of the situation.

At the finish, 44 seconds over Ellen van Dijk. “I gained time at every intermediate point, so that was good for the morale along the way. The decisive part was definitely with a headwind between ten and fifteen kilometers. You could make a big difference there. But I also still have to learn a bit how to divide a thirty-kilometer time trial," she concluded.