Lotte Kopecky wins an epic 2024 World Championships road race! The race shifted forwards and backwards between riders and favourites so much with stars in and out of contention repeatedly! It'll be an all-timer 🌈 for mine #Zurich2024
Lotte Kopecky pays tribute to Muriel Furrer after incredible consecutive world title - "This is also a title for her"
CyclocrossSaturday, 28 September 2024 at 17:34
Lotte Kopecky is at the absolute top of the cycling world and today has managed to win her second consecutive world title. In Zurich, she managed to benefit from a chaotic set of tactics from the Dutch riders and great legs on the day to resist the many attacks and sprint for the victory ahead of Chloé Dygert and Elisa Longo Borghini.
“It is mainly a feeling of disbelief. First of all, I would like to offer my condolences to Muriel Furrer’s family," Kopecky started the post-race interview. "The minute of silence at the start and the emotions of all the riders was very intense. That is terrible to see. This is also a title for her.” The young Swiss rider passed away after a crash in the women's junior event earlier this week, and it has cast a dark shadow on an otherwise spectacular week.
Today the women's elite field found terrible weather as well, and right from the first lap of the difficult circuit Kopecky was ahead and attempt to all possible moves on the day. "It was a very irritating day. It was raining a lot and it was not warm. You got so cold on the descent. Three laps before the end I was freezing. I tried to keep my head cool.” This would be the case with other riders too, but not all of them managed to do it - with Katarzyna Niewiadoma being a clear case of a rider that simply had no legs when it mattered the most.
Kopecky had a teammate in the move of four that entered the final lap in front, but the peloton was a minute behind. The matched the attacks on the steep ascent but on the main one she was dropped by Vollering, Longo Borghini and Lippert who would join a few of the front riders. “On the steep climbs I had less trouble, but on the longer climb I had trouble following Demi the last time. I tried to keep my own pace and come back. It was especially mentally very difficult. I had to use my energy at the right moment.”
It was a difficult finale to manage for the Belgian, who was then also dropped by Chloé Dygert as they chased. But the tactics being played out in front allowed her to come back to the front of the race and recover enough to then match the final set of attacks over the small ascents in the final kilometers.
With Demi Vollering counter-attacking every single move in the front group, Kopecky was able to spend more time than expected in the wheel and arrived to the final kilometer with the sprint in mind. “The Australian rider came from behind and Vollering reacted immediately. That scenario was perfect for me.” In the end, she was the fastest in the group and has achieved a major goal in 2024.
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