We already knew that Lotte Kopecky would soon be at the start of the Six Days of Ghent. But the Belgian made her comeback to the racing peloton this past weekend, on the second day of the Belgian Track Cycling Championships in Ghent. And with success, as Kopecky convincingly claimed the Belgian title in the omnium.
The 29-year-old rider from SD Worx-Protime suffered a severe crash just under two months ago in the Tour Cycliste Féminin de l’Ardèche. Initially, the damage seemed minor, but her team later communicated that she had sustained a serious injury from the crash in the French stage race. It turned out to be a fractured vertebra.
However, on Saturday the former road world champion made her return; she was the big highlight on day two of the Belgian Track Cycling Championships in Ghent. This was a deliberate choice. Kopecky deliberately competed in the omnium at the national championships to collect UCI points. These points can then help secure start rights for future international championships.
Huge gaps
Before the start of the omnium, it was still uncertain whether Kopecky could immediately compete for the title, but the Belgian quickly responded with her pedals. In the scratch race and tempo race – the first events of the omnium – she managed to lap her competitors (including Katrijn De Clercq, Lani Wittevrongel, and Luca Vierstraete).
Kopecky then won the elimination race and put the finishing touches on during the final points race. She lapped her opponents four times in the points race and ended the four events with 235 points. The gap with her closest challengers – De Clercq (129 points) and Wittevrongel (116 points) – was immense.
We will see Kopecky in action again next week, as she will also be participating in the upcoming edition of the Six Days of Ghent (November 18-23).
