Things didn't go to plan for SD Worx-Protime leader Lotte Kopecky in her final Classic of the spring at Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes on Sunday.
The Belgian, who won Milan-San Remo and Nokere Koerse last month, was among the top favourites at the Ardennes Monument, where she finished fifth last year. However, she ended her day in 73rd place, almost 18 minutes down on winner Demi Vollering.
Kopecky's teammate, two-time Liège winner Anna van der Breggen, salvaged a result for SD Worx with fourth place, but a puncture and a spell on the Shimano neutral service bike put paid to her own chances.
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"I got a flat tyre on the Côte de Wanne. I still had to do the descent afterwards, because the team cars were all very far away," Kopecky told Sporza of the incident on the race's second climb, 89km from the finish.
"In that part of the race, I knew it was becoming almost impossible.
"Yes, I jumped on a Shimano bike first, because that was the fastest option. But two minutes later, I had to switch again. Well..."
Kopecky said that she had felt good before the puncture, noting that the peloton was thinning as the riders raced over the hills of Wallonia.
However, with bad luck coming her way well before the decisive moments of the race, Kopecky never found out what she was capable of on the day.
"I saw that the group was thinning out quickly, and that gave me a good feeling. But the race hadn't started yet, so I don't know how it would have turned out," she said before running the rule over her spring campaign as a whole.
"I am very satisfied with that, but there are still some missed opportunities left," she said.
"So I am not entirely satisfied – although in modern cycling you have to be happy with what you have."
After 10 one-day races to open 2026, Kopecky will now prepare for her first stage race of the season, the Vuelta España Femenina. The seven-day race starts in Galicia on May 3 and concludes on the Alto de L'Angliru on May 9.
Kopecky said she won't be targeting the GC in Spain, instead turning her focus to stage wins before the race hits the mountains.
"What is my goal? I am not going for the general classification, but there are some opportunities in the first five days. Let's hope that goes well."
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