The Kopecky effect: Four times more U18 women registering at Cycling Vlaanderen since 2020

Lotte Kopecky's rise in professional cycling and success over the last three seasons has had a notable impact on the rise of junior women, U17 (15-16 years old) and U19 (17-18 years old), registering for a licence at the Cycling Vlaanderen federation. 

According to Anne-Laure Gheerardyn, Women's Cycling Coordinator at Cycling Vlaanderen, the number of women who are 18 years old or younger has increased nearly four times the amount during the last three seasons, a total expected to rise again in 2023.

“Knowing that not all girls have yet applied for their competition permit and the large intake moment only falls in the summer, these are strong figures,” Gheerardyn told HLN reporting 152 registrants at the end of 2019 and more than 600 at the end of 2022, with under-18 women continuing to register now and well into the summer months of 2023.

Gheerardyn also noted that, alongside Kopecky's popularity, Cycling Vlaanderen's campaign ZIJ AAN ZIJ - Side-by-Side - has also had an impact on the registration numbers.

The campaign, #ZijAanZij, which has been around for three years, returned in 2023 with three main pillars: inflow, club support and quality. The goal is to get more girls and junior women interested in cycling through clubs, guidance and follow-ups, as well as an extensive calendar of training sessions. 

Participating in #ZijAanZij is completely free and is open to all girls from 5 to 18 years old. These are birth years 2005-2018, according to Cycling Vlaanderen.

“Our own ZIJ VAN ZIJ campaign will also have provided a stimulus, as will the increased media attention for women's cycling, but Lotte Kopecky's international breakthrough is certainly a driving factor. We can safely speak of a Kopecky effect,” Gheerardyn said, who also noted an increase of 14% in women over the age of 18 registering between 2021 and 2022.

Multi-time Belgian Champion Kopecky's trajectory in professional cycling has skyrocketed over the last three seasons. Since joining the Women's WorldTour with Liv Racing in 2021 before moving to SD Worx in 2022 through 2024, she has become one of the strongest women in the peloton, not only in road racing but also on the track.

Highlights include but are not limited to a stage win at the Giro d'Italia Donne and podiums at Gent-Wevelgem, Tour of Flanders and Brugge-De Panne in 2020. The next season, she won stages at Thüringen Ladies Tour and Challenge by la Vuelta and the overall title at Lotto Belgium Tour.

Last year she won Strade Bianche and Tour of Flanders while wearing the jersey of Belgian national champion and then went on to take second at Paris-Roubaix and in the women's road race at the World Championships.

This year, she has been part of a dominant SD Worx team, winning Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Nokere Koerse and a second consecutive Tour of Flanders as well as finishing second at Amstel Gold Race.

Kopecky will close out her Spring Classics campaign at Amstel before turning her attention from the road to the velodrome at the upcoming UCI Track Nations Cup held in Milton, Canada, on April 20-23. 

The reigning World Champion in the Elimination Race and the Madison is on the hunt for points, which are important for her goals of competing on the track at the Olympic Games in Paris next summer.