Lotte Kopecky: Women's cycling won't grow without minimum salaries

Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx) is only 27 but has been in the elite peloton since her first year out of the junior ranks and has risen along with women's professional cycling amid drastic improvements over the past decade. Speaking ahead of the opening Spring Classic, the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Kopecky spoke in favour of the UCI-imposed minimum salaries for women.

"They need to be [in place] because otherwise, women's cycling will not grow," Kopecky said, adding that riders need to be able to live from pro cycling and not have to work at the same time, "because then there will always be this big gap."

Kopecky was defending the salary rules only because Patrick Lefevere, who owns the AG Insurance-Soudal-Quickstep elite and development teams and men's WorldTeam, last week criticized the minimum salaries saying "women's cycling is just not broad enough to justify" a minimum wage of €60,000.

[The current minimum for Women's WorldTeams is €26,849 for employed neo-pros, €32,102 for experienced riders, and more for self-employed riders who don't earn the same benefits. Only self-employed experienced riders will have a minimum salary that exceeds €60,000 but not until 2025. - ed]

However, Lefevere's own rider, Belgian Justine Ghekiere, made him eat those words when she escaped on the final day to win the overall Setmana Valenciana last weekend. When asked about the result, Kopecky joked, "I think it was a nice middle finger from them."

Kopecky said she felt the development of women's cycling was proceeding at the right speed and not advancing too quickly.

"I think we're just moving at the right speed," she said. "Every year there are little adjustments. The evolution we saw in the last years is very nice, we also see very nice races and a lot of spectacle."

One of those spectacles was Kopecky winning the Tour of Flanders while wearing the Belgian champion's jersey in front of a huge crowd and television audience. This year, the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad joins the Women's WorldTour after being on the Pro Series in 2021 and 2022, and a 1.1-ranked race since 2016. It will also finish after the men's, ensuring the viewers stick around for their races. The shift, a decision by organisers Flanders Classics, vastly improved the ratings for the women's races.

With the modified course giving the women a chance to compete over the old Tour of Flanders finale that includes the Muur van Geraardsbergen and Bosberg climbs, Kopecky says Omloop is worthy of the WorldTour.

"It's a very nice race that suits the WorldTour. I think it's a good thing but if it is WorldTour or not, it's still a very nice race."

There is also equal prize money for the top finishers this year, another "very nice gesture" from Flanders Classics, she says.

"It's not the most important thing, but ... although we do less kilometres, I think we still have to work for it as hard as the men. I think it's a very nice thing that this prize money is the same."

Season debut for most of SD Worx Omloop het Nieuwsblad team

SD Worx were the top team in 2022 in the UCI rankings and WorldTour, with Kopecky earning the most points thanks to her wins in the Tour of Flanders, Strade Bianche, podiums at Worlds, Paris-Roubaix, and Ronde van Drenthe. Teammate Demi Vollering was the next best, landing on the podium in all three Ardennes Classics and coming second overall in the Tour de France Femmes.

They've recruited sprinter Lorena Wiebes this year - she won a stage in the UAE Tour this month. Otherwise, Omloop het Nieuwsblad will be the first race of the season for the other riders. They may not have the race kilometres, but Kopecky knows from a recent team camp the team is ready.

"I saw everybody at the last camp, and we can be confident that it's not too bad for us that it's our first race. We had a lot of race simulations in the training camp. So I think that will not be a problem."

Kopecky has already been racing but on the track, where she won the Elimination Race, so she has plenty of speed in her legs. "I think I feel pretty good at the moment. We have a super strong team at the start. So we have a lot of options that we can play tomorrow. I hope I can have the good feeling in my legs and that with the team, we can win the race."

Since 2019, Omloop het Nieuwsblad has been won from either solo attacks or, last year, the always dominant current world champion Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) out-sprinting Vollering from a two-rider breakaway.

Last year, Kopecky missed the move on the Muur van Geraardsbergen, and had to bridge across to Van Vleuten and Vollering, only to get dispatched on the Bosberg. She says she learned a valuable lesson last year from that moment.

A stiff headwind that is expected tomorrow might change the dynamic of the finale.  "That's not really in favour for smaller groups to stay away. I hope that we can have a hard race and that there is a very hard decision on the climbs," she said.

While Kopecky will have the number 1 dossard for her team, she said if the race comes down to a sprint, then the logical choice is for her to lead out Lorena Wiebes.

"Lorena is one of the fastest girls in the bunch. And she's faster than me. O course, we have to see how she's feeling, but I think nine out of ten we will try and lead her out."

There is still a very good chance that Van Vleuten could go on one of her solo rampages. She didn't show outstanding form in Valencia last week but Kopecky is not underestimating her.

"She just came from Colombia from altitude. We shouldn't underestimate that. And now we are a week later, she had some competition. So I think she will be much better than she was last week. With Annemiek you never know. I think tomorrow, we will have a very strong Annemiek again."