Lotte Kopecky, winner of the Vélo d’Or for Finest Feminine Rider and the Eddy Merckx Trophy for Finest Classics Feminine Rider, has delivered spectacular ends in each the Spring Classics and Grand Excursions.
In 2024, the SD Worx-ProTime rider kicked off her season with victories at Nokere Koerse, Paris-Roubaix, Strade Bianche, and the UAE Tour. She additional expanded her spectacular record of achievements with an total win on the Tour de Romandie and the Simac Women Tour, along with ending second total on the Giro d’Italia. Kopecky capped off her profitable season with a consecutive highway world championship title.
The earlier yr, Kopecky received the Tour of Flanders for the second time in a row, completed second total on the Tour de France, received the ultimate inexperienced jersey, and secured the highway world championship in Glasgow.
She believes that she doesn’t must abandon her Basic Classification ambitions to deal with the Classics.
“The Classics are nonetheless the races I like essentially the most. That is the rationale why I journey my bike. So I do not suppose I’ll ever drop them, however you may actually mix them for my part, Classics and summer time [Grand Tours] are more often than not actually two completely different intervals within the calendar,” the Belgian rider instructed L’équipe.
“And naturally, I’ll implement extra climbing coaching within the spring, however nonetheless, I do not suppose that we are going to be at an obstacle should you go to races like Liège. So I’ll by no means actually drop the spring Classics for a GC.”
Kopecky loves “the character of the [Classics] races, the change of the climate each week,” and enjoys the truth that a followers line up on the highway facet and that lots of the races happen in Belgium.
“Initially, I can deal with the rain and the chilly. I like quick, explosive climbs, we now have loads of them. A number of races finish in a small bunch dash, which I additionally like, I am simply all the time actually motivated for these sort of races.”
Although her favorite race is Tour of Flanders, she considers the Ardennes Classics to be essentially the most tough races. “Fléche Wallonne is fairly onerous, however Liège as effectively. The ultimate is fairly heavy, so I feel they’re tougher than the Flemish ones.”
The brand new Girls’s WorldTour race in 2025, Milan-San Remo Donne, scheduled for March 22, is an occasion that she is “trying ahead to.”
“It’s one thing we have to speak about nonetheless with the group. It is gonna be a very nice race,” Kopecky stated. “You simply need to see the way it suits within the calendar.”
The 2025 Spring Classics kick off with Omloop Nieuwsblad Girls on March 1st.
