In a candid post about her Classics campaign, world champion Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) has opened up about the lingering knee problem and subsequent mental challenges she struggled with throughout the spring.
Kopecky also spoke honestly about how the pressure on her to perform affected her in recent months, admitting that she "had the feeling I am just not good enough anymore", following criticism from the media on her Instagram.
The Belgian started by re-addressing how she'd reacted to finishing fifth at Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes, with regret, referring to her statement: "I should be happy with this spring after the winter I had."
"I wasn’t looking for excuses and being straightforward is what I stand for. So when I said ‘I should be happy with this spring after the winter I had’ in the interview after LBL I should’ve thought twice before saying it," said Kopecky.
"But I was really done with the opinions, high expectations and really had the feeling I am just not good enough anymore. We need media. But sometimes it is hard to hear everything people are saying about you without having any clue what’s happening in our lives.
"We set goals, but that doesn’t mean we’ll succeed them all. In the end we lose more than we win."
Kopecky had one big highlight, winning the Tour of Flanders for a historic third time, but failed to defend her Paris-Roubaix crown and was clearly away from her world-beating best.
The knee problem, which was caused by a crash at the Simac Ladies Tour back in September, has now been resolved, according to her team, but the world champion nonetheless missed some vital training in the winter, which showed in the Classics.
"I’ve been struggling with my knee this winter, being on and off the bike the whole time. Mentally pretty challenging for someone who’s kind of addicted to sports. But again, I learned a lot about my body," continued Kopecky.
"I could feel my body needed a lot of race rhythm because I didn’t do any intensity training this winter. But race by race I had some improvements, sometimes big, sometimes little.
"Trying to trust the process, relying on my base I built over the past years. But never reached my full potential. Just like many of you, I wanted more victories myself and honour this amazing jersey. In general, I am happy the way things went, coming out of the classics with good form, kind of fresh feeling and very hungry for wins."
Even when she wasn't winning, however, her SD Worx-Protime teammates were, with Kopecky playing a vital role in Lorena Wiebes' victories at Milan-San Remo Women, Gent-Wevelgem, and Mischa Bredewold winning Amstel Gold Race from a breakaway.
"I already planned last year to start the season only in Milan-San Remo, I am happy I made it just in time & was able to help Lorena Wiebes to the win," Kopecky said. "I wasn’t able to make differences myself, so it made me really happy to help the team to win."
The world champion will now turn her focus mainly to the Tour de France Femmes, where she should mount a challenge for the yellow jersey and overall victory against former teammate Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez). That is still three months away, with more than enough time for Kopecky to rebuild that intensity she missed due to the knee problem.
"Sometimes things happen for a reason," Kopecky concluded. "I’ll keep up the hard work, aiming & dreaming of big things this summer!"
