It was hard to escape Lotte Kopecky in Belgium on Sunday. The world champion was followed everywhere by one chant - “ohhhh Lotte Kopecky” - there were hats handed out with her name on them, she was tracked by adoring fans. She was on national news, still in her kit, two hours on from her victory.
"It was enormous,” she said post-race on Sporza. “Sometimes I think the other riders can't hear my name anymore. But it's fantastic."
The world champion delivered what the people wanted on Sunday, winning her third Tour of Flanders, a record at three, and proving once again that she’s the woman to beat in the Classics.
She stuck with the attacks on the Oude Kwaremont, forming a group of four Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike), Liane Lippert (Movistar), and Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto), before out-sprinting the three inside the final 300m to make history.
“That [the record] doesn't mean that much,” Kopecky said post-race, however. “I am super happy that I was able to win today in the white jersey and white shorts. That means more to me than that third time."
Despite all her prowess, this was the SD Worx-Protime rider’s first win of the season, one which followed disappointment at Dwars door Vlaanderen last week, and leadout duties at both San Remo Women and Gent-Wevelgem, where her teammate Lorena Wiebes won.
Of Dwars, she said: That wasn't a nice feeling. That plays in your head and I had doubts. But I trusted my experience."
"Last year I also had a bad feeling in the Tour and I won Paris-Roubaix the week after,” she continued. Now I hope that there are more great races to come."
Kopecky is a champion, the winner of so many races, but it took a while for her to warm into the race. It was not a particularly attacking affair, with it taking a long time for the break to come back, with very few teams wanting to take charge. However, the Belgian was tenacious, and stuck with it, to taste victory again.
“This feels really good,” she said. “It was a crazy race, with a lot of crashes in the opening phase. That was really nervous. At first I didn’t have the best feeling, but I stayed calm and my legs started to feel better. Then I knew I had a good chance. Once we were four up, I was really confident about winning.”
“Mentally, the Kruisberg was a crucial moment, I felt that the group was getting thinner and thinner,” she continued, explaining her perfect race. “When we were four after the Kwaremont, I knew that I only had to survive the Paterberg. Then we could go to the finish with four. Then I knew that I could win again.”
Next up is Paris-Roubaix Femmes, and another shot at history, as the Belgian could become the first to win both races in the same season. No pressure.
