The world champion had won Tour of Flanders, but otherwise rode a relatively anonymous spring. Now it's clear the culprit was a minor knee injury. "There were many moments in the spring when I struggled, also during competitions, on hills for example. I didn't want to make myself vulnerable by telling the competition about my knee injury."
This issue held back the Belgian's season preparation which couldn't have been hidden in races against the best. "I couldn't do a single sprint last winter," Kopecky continues. "If I were to go to the final of a race, I didn't want the competition to know my weak point. Then you try to keep it quiet as much as possible."
As opposed to her former teammate
Demi Vollering. Also the Dutchman struggled in recent months, in particular at the Tour de Suisse Women. After the race, the Dutchwoman let out that the race was "one too many" for her and that she felt "completely emptied".
"Personally, I wouldn't have said that," Kopecky admits. "But sometimes you can't stop it. Demi is a very emotional person. I understand that she had a hard time and wanted to express that. She wants to show that it is sometimes hard for us too. But whether that was really wise...?"