Add gravel as one other self-discipline that Lotte Kopecky can deal with, even when she’s not in high kind. The Belgian rose to the event in entrance of a house crowd on the UCI Gravel World Championships and got here inside one second of back-to-back world titles in a single week.
The elite girls’s race for the rainbow stripes got here right down to an explosive closing 175 metres after 133km of punchy climbs and pothole-filled paths, with Marianne Vos (Netherlands) holding off Kopecky for the victory.
This end was a little bit of a flashback to the Paris Olympic Video games street race, the place Vos outkicked Kopecky for the silver medal, the gold already across the neck of US rider Kristen Faulkner. And this time within the centre of Leuven, it was on an unfamiliar floor which produced an identical end result.
“I had enjoyable, that is why I got here right here. So, yeah, it met these expectations,” Kopecky informed Cyclingnews within the blended zone after receiving her silver medal.
Kopecky got here into the gravel championships straight off her second street race world title per week in the past. As one of many world’s quickest riders on the monitor, she already has six gold medals in world championships. This try at one other world title was very completely different, her first begin ever in a gravel race, so her expectations have been reasonable.
“It is no disgrace to come back second after Marianne. It was my first gravel race, one thing fully completely different,” Kopecky informed Sporza on the end. “I ought to have approached the dash otherwise.”
On a uncommon flat part of the course on the method to the closing circuit by way of Leuven, with underneath 50km to go, Lopecky and Vos accelerated away from what had been a quartet with Lorena Wiebes (Netherlands) and Soraya Paladin (Italy). The duo would subsequent collaborate in a Dutch-Belgian armistice to distance any chasers after which settle the rating on the second move into Leuven for 2 medals, however only one championship jersey.
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Kopecky and Vos stretched out their lead by way of extra undulating small paths, this time by way of the Meerdaalwoud forest. Stay protection confirmed Kopecky placing strain on Vos as they got here out of the woods, after which stretching her again the place open fields gave the riders a little bit of a break.
The 2 motored alongside out and in of wooded sections that begged for attentiveness with the fixed fluctuation of shadows and vibrant sunshine, making the uneven surfaces tough. Kopecky was seen stretching once more.
“Yeah, my legs are effective, however my decrease again was exploding. I believe it was getting all of the hits from the holes, one thing that I am not likely used to. So I hope it isn’t too unhealthy. I simply tried to get the again as relaxed as attainable in direction of the end,” she defined within the blended zone.
The hole moved from three minutes to 4 minutes because the duo hit the ultimate 5km of the race. Two kilometres later the treaty for cooperation expired and Vos attacked on the steep cobbled climb of the Ramberg headed to town centre. However Vos got here again on the pavement and the duo settled the rating on the large boulevard of the Bondgenotenlaan.
“Then in the long run, Marianna began the dash. I made some mistake, I believe I waited too lengthy,” Kopecky stated. “However yeah, Marianna was simply sooner.”
Kopecky stated she preferred the course, with the fixed undulations, turns and uneven surfaces, and an absence of lengthy, sustained climbs was a plus for a Classics-style setup. Nonetheless, she famous that the extent of problem got here with positioning within the race, which was a a lot completely different perspective than her solo reconnaissance.
“After I did the recon this week, it felt actually onerous. So it was truly much less onerous than I anticipated [Saturday], perhaps as a result of I did it alone. With a bit greater group, it is primarily positioning,” she informed Cyclingnews in regards to the misleading problem on a slim setup.
“For those who’re not in place on the correct sectors, you then truly lose your race. So there are a couple of essential factors on this course that the place you are in entrance, it will possibly actually make an enormous distinction.”
A victory would have given Kopecky a second world title in per week, however she was pleased to have such a excessive efficiency in her first gravel outing.
“I believe with Marianna, now we have a really worthy champion.”
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