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Belgian cyclist (born 1995) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lotte Kopecky (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈlɔtə koːˈpɛki]; born 10 November 1995) is a Belgian road and track racing cyclist, who rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam Team SD Worx–Protime, and the 2023 and 2024 UCI Elite Women's World Road Race Champion.[7] She is a multiple world champion on the track, having won six gold medals across four UCI Track Cycling World Championships; she won the madison in 2017 and 2022, the points race in 2021 and 2023, and the elimination race in 2022 and 2023.
Kopecky started cycling at the age of nine. Like her brother, she focused on cyclo-cross. She then joined the Topsport School which combines sports practice with studies. But since cyclo-cross is not an Olympic discipline, a necessary condition to be part of the curriculum, she switched to road and track cycling.[8]
Aged 16, Kopecky became Belgian junior time trial champion in 2012, and second in the road race. In Valkenburg, Netherlands, she finished 11th in the woman junior's time trial during the 2012 UCI Road World Championships. A year later, she finished seventh and ninth in the time trial and road race at the European Championships in Olomouc, Czech Republic and she won silver at the Belgian Junior Women's Time Trial Championship.[9]
In track cycling, Kopecky achieved good results from her youth. She won several Belgian titles as a novice and junior. In 2012, she rode her first international championship. At the 2013 UEC European Junior Championships, Kopecky won the points race and the individual pursuit, and became third in the team pursuit.[10]
In both 2014 and 2015, she won the golden medal in the national track championships individual pursuit and the silver medal at the national championships for the elite road race.[11]
Kopecky signed for Lotto–Soudal Ladies in November 2015.[12] In May 2016, she won her first professional road race, the Trofee Maarten Wynants.[13] After competing in the time trial and road race at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, she won the youth classification of the Lotto Belgium Tour in September.
That year, she also won the national Under-23 road race and time trial championships, which she also managed to do in 2017. Kopecky also grabbed silver in the 2017 national elite road race.
Lotte Kopecky and Jolien D'Hoore managed to win the golden medal in the Madison discipline at the 2017 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, after they won the European title in 2016.[14]
Kopecky dominated the 2017 national track championships, winning the Omnium, Scratch and Points race.[15]
In 2018, in addition to some places of honor, she won the points classification in the Belgium Tour.[16]
In February 2019, Kopecky managed to win the inaugural Vuelta a la Comunitat Valenciana Feminas.[17] She became the national elite time trial champion later that year.[18] In 2020, she managed to win both the national elite time trial and road race championship. She finished second in Gent–Wevelgem, after Jolien D'Hoore, and third in the Tour of Flanders.[19] Lotte Kopecky participated in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, finishing 4th in the individual road race.[20]
Kopecky signed with the prestigious SD Worx team in June 2021, believing that she would be surrounded by stronger cyclists.[21] After winning the final stage, she won the general classification of the Belgium Tour, as well as the points classification.[22] She also won the final stage of the Challenge by La Vuelta, and the points classification. And like the year before, Kopecky managed to win both the national time trial and road race championship.[23]
During the 2021 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, she won the golden medal in the Points race, and the silver medal in the Elimination and Omnium disciplines.[24]
In 2022, she won the classics Strade Bianche[25] and Tour of Flanders,[26] and ended as second in Paris–Roubaix Femmes.
Kopecky won the points classification of the Vuelta a Burgos Feminas and finished as first in one stage. At the world championships road race in Wollongon, Australia, she seemed to be on her way to her first world title, but due to an unexpected attack by Annemiek Van Vleuten she had to settle for a silver medal.[27]
2022 proved to be a successful year in track cycling, with a world title in the Elimination and Madison (with Shari Bossuyt) and a European title in the Elimination and Points race.[28]
In November 2022, after being a couple for more than three years, Kopecky ended her relationship with Kieran De Fauw.[29] As he was also her coach, she decided to continue without a coach and to coach herself.[30]
Kopecky won the classic 2023 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Nokere Koerse, and after an early escape she won the Tour of Flanders for the second time in a row.[31]
She ranked second in the 2023 Tour de France Femmes and won the first stage and the points classification. On 13 August 2023 Kopecky won the Road Race at the World Championships in Balloch, Great Britain.[32] As the big favorite for the final victory, she was able to arrive solo after a nervous race.[33]
Kopecky became World and European champion Elimination and also won the Points race during the 2023 World Track Championships in Glasgow, Scotland.[34] On national level, in the Vlaams Wielercentrum Eddy Merckx, she became Belgian champion in the Individual pursuit, Points race, Omnium, Elimination and Madison (with Shari Bossuyt).[35] After receiving several national and international cycling awards in late 2023, she was also voted Belgian of the Year.[36]
In February 2024, Kopecky extended her contract with SD Worx-Protime until 2028.[37] By then, she already had won the general and sprints classification of the UAE Tour Women. In March, Kopecky won the classic Strade Bianche for a second time, and succeeded herself in Nokere Koerse.[38] She also managed to win Paris–Roubaix Femmes, after a powerful sprint.[39]
At the Tour of Britain in June 2024, Kopecky won two stages and finished first in the general and points classification.[40] The same month, she won the Belgian road race and time trial championship once more.[41] Kopecky was a big favorite to win the gold medal in the Olympic road race in Paris, but had to settle for a bronze medal. Despite the French doping agency acknowledging that the use of letrozole metabolite was not intentional, her partner Shari Bossuyt was suspended for 2 years. This forced Kopecky to adjust her ambitions for the Madison event at the Olympics and championships to follow.[42]
After winning the general and mountains classifications in the Tour de Romandie, Kopecky won the Time trial at the UEC European Championships. She extended her road race world championship title at the UCI World Championships in Zurich, Switzerland.[43] In the final lap she experienced several difficult moments uphill, but she could handle her race tactically and win the sprint finish.[44] At the 2024 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, Kopecky ended as second in both the Elimination and Points race, finishing her season with nine medals at a major championship.[45]
Kopecky's great-grandfather was Czech.[46] Off the bike, she enjoys spending time with family and friends and is known for her down-to-earth personality. Her brother struggled with depression and committed suicide in 2023. Kopecky and her family went through a difficult period. She later admitted that she would never have started cycling without him.
"To be honest, I didn't even like cycling. But Seppe did it, I looked up to him, and so I just joined. It was only later that I realized how crazy that choice actually was, because there were many sports that I was good at and I could have chosen another one for the same reason." Kopecky mentioned in a 2023 interview.[47]
Source:[48]
Time trial, National Novice Championships Time trial, National Novice Championships Time trial
Time trial
Sprints classification Under-23 road race Under-23 time trial Under-23 road race Road race Time trial
Young rider classification Road race Time trial
Points classification
Belgian rider classification Time trial, National Championships Road race Time trial Road race Time trial
Overall Belgium Tour
Points classification
Points classification
Sprints classification Time trial, National Championships Points classification
Road race
Road race, UCI World Championships Road race Time trial
Overall Thüringen Ladies Tour
Points classification Overall Simac Ladies Tour
Points classification after Stages 1–6
after Stage 1 Road race, UEC European Championships
Road race
Time trial, UEC European Championships Overall UCI World Tour Road race Time trial Overall Tour of Britain
Points classification Overall UAE Tour
Overall Simac Ladies Tour
Overall Tour de Romandie Points classification
Road race| Major Tour results timeline | |||||||||||||||
| Stage race | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Vuelta Femenina[note 1] | — | — | 18 | 21 | — | — | |||||||||
| Giro d'Italia | 86 | DNF | — | 42 | — | 2 | |||||||||
| Tour de France | Race did not exist | 38 | 2 | — | |||||||||||
| Stage race results timeline | |||||||||||||||
| Stage race | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||
| Thüringen Ladies Tour | — | — | 2 | — | 1 | — | |||||||||
| Lotto Belgium Tour | 2 | — | 1 | — | NH | — | |||||||||
| Holland Ladies Tour | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| UAE Tour | Race did not exist | — | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Tour of Britain | — | NH | — | — | NH | 1 | |||||||||
| Tour de Romandie | NH | — | — | 1 | |||||||||||
| Monument | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tour of Flanders | — | 33 | 5 | — | 32 | 3 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Paris–Roubaix | Did not exist | NH | 15 | 2 | 7 | 1 | ||||
| Liège–Bastogne–Liège | Did not exist | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 38 | |
| Classic | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
| Omloop Het Nieuwsblad | — | — | 11 | — | — | — | 4 | 27 | 1 | 2 |
| Strade Bianche | — | — | — | — | — | — | 17 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Ronde van Drenthe | — | 23 | 25 | — | 5 | NH | — | 3 | — | — |
| Nokere Koerse | Did not exist | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Trofeo Alfredo Binda | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 |
| Classic Brugge–De Panne | Did not exist | — | 3 | 3 | 4 | 9 | — | — | ||
| Gent–Wevelgem | 21 | 35 | 16 | — | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 70 | 19 |
| Dwars door Vlaanderen | 6 | 8 | 6 | — | 52 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Amstel Gold Race | — | — | — | — | — | NH | — | — | 2 | 77 |
| La Flèche Wallonne | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 15 |
| GP de Plouay | — | — | — | — | — | 23 | — | — | — | |
| Event | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Olympic Games |
Time trial | Not held | 21 | Not held | — | NH | 6 | |||||
| Road race | 45 | 4 | 3 | |||||||||
| World Championships |
Time trial | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 9 | — | 5 |
| Road race | — | — | 75 | — | — | — | — | 16 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Team relay | Did not exist | — | NH | 7 | — | — | — | |||||
 European Championships |
Time trial | Did not exist | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 1 | |
| Road race | — | — | — | 11 | 7 | 14 | — | 3 | — | |||
| Team relay | Did not exist | 4 | — | — | NH | — | — | |||||
 National Championships |
Time trial | — | 6 | 2 | — | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Road race | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 58 | 1 | 1 | 51 | 1 | 1 | |
| — | Did not compete |
|---|---|
| DNF | Did not finish |
| NH | Not held |
Individual pursuit
Points race Individual pursuit Team pursuit Individual pursuit Individual pursuit, UEC European Under-23 Championships Individual pursuit Madison (with Jolien D'Hoore) Omnium Points race Omnium Omnium Madison, UCI World Championships (with Jolien D'Hoore)
Overall, Omnium Omnium Points race Scratch Points race Elimination Omnium Madison (with Shari Bossuyt) Elimination Elimination Points race Elimination Points race
Omnium Elimination Omnium Individual pursuit Points race Omnium Elimination Madison (with Shari Bossuyt) Elimination Points race Madison Elimination Points race UCI World Championships
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