Road world champion Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) has set her provisional programme for the end of the season, with a mixture of track and road racing on the cards for the Belgian and some big goals still to come, including a possible defence of her rainbow jersey in Rwanda in late September.
Kopecky will head to the track, not the road, for her first competition since the Tour de France Femmes, joining the Belgian track team at the Prague Summer Track event on August 24 and 25, Het Nieuwsblad report.
From there, Nieuwsblad say the Belgian is set to ride the Tour de l'Ardèche on the road as a build-up to a likely appearance at the road World Championships in Rwanda at the end of September.
She will also line up for the time trial at the European Championships in October, before a potential return to the track for the World Championships in Chile, depending on her fitness and form.
However, after a difficult Tour de France, there are still some question marks over whether defending champion Kopecky will actually race in Rwanda. A return to the track and the Tour de l'Ardèche are likely ways for her to discover how her form is.
"We don't have 100% certainty yet," Ludwig Willems, coach of the Belgian women's road team, told Nieuwsblad.
"Ultimately, it's up to Lotte herself to make those decisions. But the messages I'm getting from her are positive. The Tour wasn't easy for her, both physically and mentally, but she's now sorted everything out and seems to have flipped the switch. It's a matter of finding the right drive and fitness again. But I know Lotte: she'll succeed. There's still time. The World Championships are almost six weeks away."
Despite her attendance not being fully set yet, Willems is also confident that the race in Rwanda, though touted as a climbers' race for the men, will be slightly more open for the women, given its shorter length and fewer elevation metres, and therefore suit Kopecky.
"It will be something between the Tour of Flanders and the Amstel Gold Race," he said. "In short: it's truly tailor-made for Lotte. She knows that.
"When there was talk months ago that the World Championships might not take place in Rwanda after all, and there was already talk of a plan B in Martigny, Switzerland, I remember Lotte really hoping it wouldn't come to that. Martigny would be too tough for her, but in Rwanda she definitely has a good chance of another title."
Whether she also races Worlds on the track remains to be confirmed, and will depend on her performance – and points-scoring – in Prague this weekend.
"We haven't set any major goals," Belgian track coach Tim Carswell told Sporza. "The most important thing is that she regains her feeling on the track. Besides that, the riders also need to earn the necessary UCI points to participate in important races like the world championships."
Currently training with the team in Gent, Carswell was also positive about her form post-Tour de France.
"It feels like she's never been away," he said. "She's looking very good in training so far. It's great to have her back in the group."
