Thursday, March 28, 2024 at 10:09 AM
SD Worx-Protime was still celebrating last Sunday in Ghent-Wevelgem, but the team had a bad day in Dwars door Vlaanderen. Lotte Kopecky, who finished fourth in Waregem, was very sharp for her teammates afterwards.
Kopecky was part of the right elite group of six riders in the midweek classic, but was isolated and failed to keep her fellow escapees in line. Just thirteen kilometers from the finish, Shirin van Anrooij jumped away from the group and only Marianne Vos turned out to be lucid enough to join us. The two Dutch ladies found each other and this turned out to be a decisive moment in the race.
Van Anrooij and Vos were allowed to sprint for the win, Kopecky had to settle for a place of honor. “The general feeling was certainly good,” the world champion told her story afterwards, in conversation with The newspapaer. “But a few (referring to her teammates, ed.) need to wake up. Someone from our team should always have been there on the cobblestone section where that group drove away.”
“Okay, maybe I could have been there myself. But others could also have taken the initiative.” Kopecky managed to correct the lopsided situation, but was ‘surprised’ by Vos and Van Anrooij in the final. “Gambled and lost,” she summarizes. “But I was very sharp throughout the race and reacted at the right moments, except for that cobblestone stretch and that late exit. I have myself to thank for that. But there are certainly no doubts in my mind.”
Sports director Stam: “We were far from sharp themselves”
Sports director Danny Stam was also strict with his riders afterwards. “I thought we were far from sharp. Not Lotte either, because otherwise she wouldn’t have to jump to the leading group. That’s where you start chasing the facts. You can’t afford mistakes like that in current cycling. What is the reason for this lack of sharpness? That’s hard to say.”
“It was also a strange situation with the race being neutralized (due to an accident, ed.), the course being shortened and some climbs (the Hotond and Knokteberg, ed.) being removed. But that shouldn’t be an excuse. When you see Lidl-Trek gathering, you know you have to be attentive. And we weren’t.”
