As the peloton heads into the highly anticipated cobbled Classics, the personal expectations to win and outside pressures to perform rest squarely on World Champion Lotte Kopecky's shoulders.
There is almost no disputing Kopecky's status as the outright favourite, but she will face rivals aplenty in the upcoming Gent-Wevelgem, Tour of Flanders, and Paris-Roubaix.
Her dominance throughout the previous season, which included victories at the Tour of Flanders and Tour de France and three world titles in the road race, elimination race, and points race, has marked a turning point in her career.
Once among the favourite contenders, Kopecky, wearing the rainbow jersey but also the double Belgian national champion, is now very much the centrepiece for the cobbled Classics, especially on her home soil and in front of her home crowds.
SD Worx-Protime continues to tip Kopecky as their wildcard throughout the early season. She has proven to be one of their most valuable riders because of her versatility on all-terrain, including sprints, mountains, time trials, and the track.
When it comes to one day racing up the hellingen and over the cobblestone sectors across Belgium, which are so much part of the famed cobbled Classics, these variables are almost second nature to her, training grounds that are deeply ingrained into her characteristics as a professional cyclist.
Kopecky may not have anything to prove; after all, she has already raised her arms in celebration twice as the winner of the Tour of Flanders in 2022 and 2023. However, there are still races to conquer.
She finished second on two occasions at Gent-Wevelgem and had three top 10s at Dwars door Vlaanderen, all in the pre-COVID era. However, she has since opted not to compete in what has largely been considered the dress rehearsal for the Tour of Flanders.
She has also finished second and seventh in two editions of Paris-Roubaix, where strength, skill and luck often play equal parts in the outcome of the race into the Roubaix Velodrome.
Kopecky is trying to manage her expectations, but she is also aiming high for these cobbled Classics, telling the press that it was her aim to be in peak form ahead of the Tour of Flanders and through the Ardennes Classics. The main goal, however, is Paris-Roubaix.
"It's also the kind of efforts I really like and it's just a heroic race," she said in an early season interview.
Kopecky can be beaten
Although she may not have intended to be in winning form so soon, Kopecky started her season with an overall victory at the UAE Tour, where she was the strongest on the stage 3 ascent atop Jebel Hafeet.
As the curtain lifted on the Spring Classics at Opening Weekend's Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, she was out-sprinted by Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike) in a four-rider sprint to the finish line in Ninove.
Vos will also be a major player across some of the cobbled Classics, and we can anticipate that her goal is to peak through Dwars door Vlaanderen, Tour of Flanders, and Paris-Roubaix. Second place at the 2021 edition of the Hell of the North, Vos was then forced to pull out of the 2022 edition due to COVID-19, and she finished 10th last year in a race that saw Alison Jackson (EF Education-Cannondale) take the breakaway sprint victory.
Back-to-back wins at Strade Bianche and Nokere Koerse, have proven that Kopecky is on track to reaching her peak form at the right time, just ahead of Gent-Wevelgem.
However, she was a last-minute addition to the Trofeo Alfredo Binda roster, where Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) was the fastest finisher in the sprint for the victory. The Italian and former world champion also secured a second consecutive win at Classic Brugge-De Panne. The US team will also have a powerful team with Elisa Longo Borghini and Lizzie Deignan.
In that race, SD Worx were forced to pull out due to multiple rider injuries, including their sprinter Lorena Wiebes, who had crashed at Nokere Koerse.
Back in full force at Gent-Wevelgem, the team features defending champion Marlen Reusser, Kopecky, Wiebes, Femke Markus, Christine Majerus, and Chantal van den Broek-Blaak. Then, the team will bring in Tour de France winner Demi Vollering and European Champion Mischa Bredewold for Dwars door Vlaanderen and Tour of Flanders.
"Our team is healthy again and ready to race. Marlen Reusser already had good legs after her illness in the Trofeo Binda. She is eager to do her best again. Lorena Wiebes is also hoping for the top scaffold," said sport director Lars Boom.
"And Lotte Kopecky, as world champion in her own country, is, of course, also super motivated. It's an advantage that we have several irons in the fire"
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The major races
Classic Brugge-De Panne Women - March 21, Belgium (WorldTour)
This is a race traditionally well suited to sprinters. The route begins in Brugge and passes through Leeuw, Koekelare, and Schoorbakke. The contest then moves on to two finishing circuits in De Panne. Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) took the victory ahead of Charlotte Kool (dsm-firmenich PostNL).
Gent-Wevelgem Women - March 24, Belgium (WorldTour)
The second of six Flanders Classics events after Omloop het Nieuwsblad, Gent-Wevelgem is one of the flatter one-day races and typically sees a clash of the sprinters. The start of the race was moved from Ypres' Grote Markt to the Menin Gate and included several main climbs, such as the Beneberg, Kemmelberg and Monteberg en route to the finish in Wevelgem. Marlen Reusser lines up as the defending champion.
Dwars door Vlaanderen - March 27, Belgium (ProSeries)
While this race is not yet part of the Women's WorldTour calendar, it is one of the most important test events ahead of the Tour of Flanders, which is held four days later. The Pro Series event starts and finishes in Waregem, taking in nine climbs and seven separate cobblestone sectors on the edge of the Flemish Ardennes over 129.9km. Demi Vollering lines up as the defending champion.
Tour of Flanders Women - March 31, Belgium (WorldTour)
The Tour of Flanders, one of the most prestigious of the Spring Classics, begins and ends in Oudenaarde. It covered a combination of cobbled sectors and steep climbs, including the more decisive climbs near the end of the race – Kruisberg/Hotond, Oude Kwaremont, and the Paterberg – before the finish line in Oudenaarde. Lotte Kopecky lines up as the two-time defending champion.
Paris-Roubaix Femmes - April 6, France (WorldTour)
The inaugural Paris-Roubaix Femmes in 2021 was a day written into the history books for both women's cycling and for the first winner of the Paris-Roubaix Femmes - Lizzie Deignan. Her teammate, Elisa Longo Borghini, followed up with another win for Trek-Segafredo in the 2022 edition, and Alison Jackson (EF) won in 2023. The 116km route from Denain to the Roubaix Velodrome includes 17 sectors of cobbled roads, with two of the pavé sectors rated at the maximum difficulty level – Mons-en-Pévèle and the Carrefour de l'Arbre.
