Lotte Kopecky has ‘no problem’ with Lorena Wiebes joining SD Worx

Lotte Kopecky has 'no problem' with Lorena Wiebes joining SD Worx

When the announcement was made that the women’s peloton’s foremost sprinting talent, Lorena Wiebes, would be joining SD Worx all eyes were on the team’s current fast-finishing rider, Lotte Kopecky. Many thought that bringing Wiebes into the team would be a clash for Kopecky, who has similar characteristics to her new teammate.

However, speaking to Sporza from a Belgian national team training camp in Turkey, Kopecky has said that racing alongside Wiebes will be “no problem”.

“I look at that in a positive way. When we start together, I will be able to race more offensively and more freely. Because if it comes to a bunch sprint, we have Lorena,” Kopecky said.

Earlier this year, Kopecky got the better of Annemiek van Vleuten to take the win at Strade Bianche, won Flanders in the Belgian national colours and just missed out on the road world title while also claiming two world titles and a European title on the track.

“It will be very difficult to match that or to do better,” Kopecky said of her 2022 season. “It does motivate me to work super hard again this winter and to get the highest possible out of it again next year.”

Kopecky also revealed that she will target the European Championships on the track in February as part of her pathway to qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, “I’m trying to have my big peak again [for] the Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix, but the Games are already in the back of my mind,” she explained. “Hopefully we can get a lot of points this year so we don’t have to worry about that in 2024.”