World Champion Lotte Kopecky has labelled Demi Vollering's comments that the pair stopped speaking towards the end of the 2024 season as "completely unnecessary" after the latter revealed that their relationship had soured.
Speaking to NRC last month, Vollering opened up about losing the Tour de France Femmes and her tumultuous final few months on SD Worx-Protime, as well as how communication had broken down after it was confirmed she would be leaving.
With Kopecky extending her stay as the future main leader of the Dutch team and Vollering's departure being announced messily, Vollering claimed the pair's dynamic had changed, both in racing and when they talked to each other.
"Very different from last year," is how Vollering described things to the Dutch newspaper. "I think she [Kopecky] tried to avoid me a bit, she was more focused on herself. I can understand that, with all the expectations they have of her in Belgium. But she was very focused on next year when I'm not there anymore.
"The whole season, when I raced with Lotte, we raced with two plans. A plan for Lotte, a plan for Demi."
Kopecky didn't hold back in her evaluation of her soon-to-be rival's comments speaking with Het Laatste Nieuws.
“It is a shame that articles like this are appearing now. I think it’s completely unnecessary to start kicking now. I think Demi should remember that this team has given her a lot," Kopecky told the Belgian newspaper.
"Demi is a really good rider, but this team has brought her to where she is now and I hope she is very grateful for that and then she should show a bit more respect for that."
“During the spring, things didn’t go great for Demi. She was fortunately able to make up for that in the Spanish races afterwards, but I think it’s not my fault that she didn’t perform well earlier. Afterwards, we rode separate programs. She aimed for the Tour, I did the Giro and the Olympics.”
Things came to a head for the pair at the Tour de Romandie in September, according to Vollering, where the pair competed directly for the overall victory. The Dutchwoman won out in the stage 2 sprint á deux, but ultimately Kopecky came out on top to claim the GC.
This is where Vollering claims they stopped speaking but Kopecky didn't see it quite the same way.
"I tried that all season, but I noticed that the communication was only one-sided. In Romandie we avoided each other a bit," said Vollering. "Then I thought: now it's just over."
“The first time we met [at races] in the team after the spring was in Romandie, where Demi said she was aiming for the general classification and I also said I wanted to go for the overall victory. I think that's where it went wrong for Demi…" recalled Kopecky in response.
"I think it's a shame that she makes these statements because she told me a whole story in Romandie about her wedding plans. So it's not like we haven't talked to each other anymore... Maybe her boiling point is just lower than mine?"
While they'll be direct rivals on the road in 2025 after Vollering moved to FDJ-Suez, likely during the Spring Classics and possibly the Tour de France Femmes, Kopecky is hopeful they can move on and still have respect for each other.
“I don’t know what exactly is bothering her. I’ve always had a good relationship with Demi," said Kopecky.
"Even after that incident in Strade Bianche 2023, we always laughed about it within the team, because we saw it differently to how the media saw it, and Demi and I still got along perfectly well.
"Afterwards, I never had the feeling that our relationship was no longer good. I hope that in the future we can still treat each other with respect, at least that's certainly the case for me. I hope Demi will do that too."
