World Champion Lotte Kopecky returned to winning ways on Tuesday with victory on the opening stage of the Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l’Ardèche. The Belgian champion outsprinted Eleonora Ciabocco of Picnic PostNL on the uphill finish in Laudun-l’Ardoise, with teammate Mischa Bredewold taking third to complete a perfect start for SD Worx-Protime.
It was Kopecky’s third win of the season after triumphs at the Tour of Flanders and the Belgian time trial championships. Her year has been hampered by a back injury that forced her out of the Giro d’Italia Women and limited her ambitions at the Tour de France Femmes. This victory, her first since July, marked a welcome boost as she looks to rebuild form late in the year.
A testing finale
The 127.5 km stage began aggressively, with Anna van Wersch of Lotto and Nina Lavenu of AG Insurance-Soudal forcing clear mid-stage. Their lead reached more than two minutes before the peloton, led by SD Worx, began to close the gap. Ocean Mahe of Arkéa-B&B Hotels tried to counter, but the hilly terrain and penultimate lap split the bunch into several groups.
Van Wersch persisted, cresting the final climb alone before being reeled in just before the last intermediate sprint. From there, the decisive test was the final kilometre into Laudun-l’Ardoise, a sharp ramp averaging close to 10 per cent. The punishing gradient proved ideal for Kopecky, who opened her sprint on the steep slope and held off Ciabocco, with Bredewold consolidating third place.
Photo Credit: GettyKopecky’s return to racing
For Kopecky, it was also her first race since a difficult Tour de France Femmes. She admitted at the start that she had originally planned to build form for the World Championships in Rwanda, only to decide against racing there. Instead, she set her sights on the Ardèche to regain rhythm and confidence.
“I looked forward to being back in competition,” Kopecky said before the stage. “It’s a hard stage race, and I mostly hoped to enjoy racing again. Day by day we’ll see how it goes. The priority was to find my legs again, but of course it’s nice to win a stage.”
Kopecky now holds the leader’s jersey on the same time as Ciabocco, with Bredewold third overall at four seconds. The Tour de l’Ardèche continues with six further stages on challenging terrain in the Gard and Ardèche departments, offering plenty more opportunities for climbing specialists and aggressive racing.
2025 Tour de l’Ardèche Stage 1 result
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Main photo credit: Getty
