Lotte Kopecky has won the Belgian national championships on the road for the first time in her career. In Anzegem she was faster than Jolien D’Hoore and Shari Bossuyt after 131 kilometres in a sprint. Kopecky succeeds teammate Jesse Vandenbulcke. In addition to Belgian road champion, the 24-year-old Kopecky is also the reigning national champion time trial.
Lotte Kopecky:
“I have been chasing this Belgian title for so long. This victory is very satisfying. Today was an awesome team effort. My teammates took control of the race right from the start. They made the race tough and reacted to many attacks. After all their work I had to finish it off today. “
“I was not afraid to attack early. In the end that did not turn out badly. I was able to make it hard for Jolien and that also had an impact on her final sprint. At a certain point the peloton came very close and I tried to surprise Jolien with an attack on Tiegemberg. She didn’t really like that. But we kept the pace. “
“When Shari joined us in the final kilometres, I quickly felt that she was satisfied with third place. In the final sprint I started at just over 200 meters from the finish. There was a moment of panic when my bike changed gear. Fortunately that didn’t cause much trouble. Jolien came next to me and I knew I had to go full until the line.”
“I put my hands in the air because I felt that I had won. When Jolien did the same, I started to have doubts. Then we had to wait a long time for the official confirmation. Those minutes really seemed to last forever. When they announced me as winner there was a big relief. After my stage win in the Giro Rosa, this is a wonderful second victory in a week. I am in a great flow. “