After finishing second in the general classification of the 2023 Tour de France Femmes, Belgium openly dreamed of having its first Tour winner. Lotte Kopecky decided to take on the challenge, hoping to transform herself into a GC contender, but this turned out to be the beginning of a painful journey.
Kopecky has definitely learned her lesson for the new season. "I am someone who rides a lot by feel. But last season, I started working with a dietitian, and that was a big burden for me," Kopecky said earlier in an interview with Sporza. "Now the numbers came into play and you expect huge changes. But they didn't happen. During preparation, mentally it was already too much."
"I can certainly say that in 2026 I won’t be aiming for a GC in the Tour. I think I mainly have to do what I enjoy most," she said Saturday during the Belgian Track Championships in Ghent. "But I do already have a plan in my head. I’m thinking about the European Track Championships in early February. After that, I want to race as many classics as possible and preferably win some too."
Doubts after a period of injury struggles
The Belgian world-class rider was sidelined for a while after a heavy crash in the Tour Cycliste Féminin de l’Ardèche, but made her comeback to the peloton this weekend. Kopecky can look back on a more than successful return to competition. The SD Worx-Protime rider claimed the Belgian title in the omnium just two months after her vertebral fracture.
Afterwards there was relief and joy, but Kopecky still has doubts. "The recovery is going well, but the injury still raises questions. Absolutely. A protrusion from a vertebra was broken, and the muscles around it also took a big hit. So far it’s going well, but I hope it won’t cause problems when the load increases and I race more events."
