Bad luck strikes again as Lotte Kopecky crashes out of 2025 Tour de l’Ardèche

Lotte Kopecky’s 2025 season took another unfortunate twist on Thursday when the double world champion crashed out of the Tour de l’Ardèche. Having already confirmed she would not defend her road world title in Rwanda later this month, her fall in France underlines how little has gone to plan this year for one of the sport’s biggest stars.

The incident happened early in stage three, around the 20-kilometre mark, when Kopecky hit the deck and remounted briefly before stepping off her bike for good. RadioCourse confirmed her withdrawal after the intermediate sprint in Sorgues, with reports pointing to pain in her lower back. It marked a sudden end to what had looked like a promising restart to competition after her post-Tour de France break.

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Just two days earlier Kopecky had shown glimpses of her best by winning the opening stage of the 2025 Tour de l’Ardeche. On the steep uphill finish she outkicked Eleonora Ciabocco and teammate Mischa Bredewold, taking both the victory and the first leader’s jersey. The following stage was then cancelled due to protests, leaving Thursday as the chance to consolidate her form – until misfortune struck again.

This latest setback adds to a year that has never quite clicked for the Belgian. Her build-up to the Tour de France Femmes was marked by training experiments that left her flat, and the race itself proved below expectations. Although she has still collected results, including the Belgian time trial title and strong showings in the Classics, Kopecky has lacked the relentless dominance of 2023 and 2024. Her decision to skip the World Championships, framed as a chance to reset mentally, already suggested the need for a pause.

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Now, with Ardèche cut short, the hope is that she can recover physically and step away long enough to rebuild for 2026. For organisers, her withdrawal is a blow after the late absence of Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, but the bigger story is Kopecky’s luckless season. For a rider used to shaping the calendar, 2025 has instead been shaped by missed opportunities and, once again, untimely misfortune.