Lotte Kopecky takes Belgian road title

Fresh off a stage 7 win at the Giro d'Italia Internazionale Femminile, Lotte Kopecky (Lotto Soudal Ladies) secured her second national title of 2020 at the Belgian National Championships. After winning the time trial title last month in Koksijde, Kopecky launched a final kick at the line to win the elite women’s road race title over breakaway companion Jolien D’hoore (Boels-Dolmans) in Anzegem on Tuesday. 

Led with a charge by Kopecky, the two-rider breakaway pushed the pace from the peloton and the morning fog with 50.5km to go in the 131.6km race, which was held on seven laps of 18.8km loop. 

A bit of a cat-and-mouse game on the final climb of Tiegemberg allowed chasers to close the gap to under 20 seconds giving 20-year-old Shari Bossuyt (NXTG Racing) the chance to catch Kopecky and D’hoore. However, she could not match the final acceleration in the closing kilometre and although she had to settle for bronze, she secured the under-23 title.

"I think we drove a perfect race with the team. We took control of the race from the start,” Kopecky said in a post-race interview with Sporza. “In the end, I was in the lead with Jolien D'hoore and that was the ideal situation. I knew that I had to wear out her fast legs and I succeeded.”

With 200m to go, Lotte launched her winning sprint to outdistance Bossuyt in a photo finish.

"It was a great final. I really went for it, but I couldn't get Jolien off. Of course you are never sure in the sprint, although I felt good. I knew I shouldn't wait too long to, and that was the right decision."

It was the first elite women’s national road race title for Kopecky, who had settled for the silver four times in previous years (2014-2017). The Belgian National Championships are split up this year and in August the 24-year-old won her third time trial national title since 2017.