Lotte Kopecky wins fourth women's Belgian time trial title
Shari Bossuyt second and Britt Knaven third in Gavere
Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx) won her fourth consecutive time trial title at the Belgian Road Championships in Gavere.
Kopecky covered the 23.1km route in a winning time of 31:12 and beat runner-up Shari Bossuyt (Canyon-SRAM Racing) by 1:04 and third-placed Britt Knaven (AG Insurance-NXTG Team) by 1:08.
“I wanted to win today by more than 14 seconds,” Kopecky said in an interview with WielerFlits, referencing last year's victory margin.
“Then I had to make up for a second after the first lap and pull out all the stops on the second lap. Now it was the other way around. I now had a fairly reassuring lead after the first lap. This gave me the confidence to keep up the pace I had.”
Kopecky said the difference between this year's margin of victory and last year's came down to better form and equipment.
“It is now a lot better, both in terms of condition and material. I also worked on my time trial position. When I compare my position with last year, it really makes a world of difference," she said.
Kopecky will now turn her attention to defending her road race title on Sunday in Middelkerke.
“It is my goal to extend my title, although it will not be an easy task. A lot of women are going to give me a hard time," she said. "The race is still to be run. I have a chance in a bunch sprint, but of course it would be best to stay ahead with a group. That also means less pressure.”
Results powered by FirstCycling

Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*
Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets
After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59

Join now for unlimited access
Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Kirsten Frattini is an honours graduate of Kinesiology and Health Science from York University in Toronto, Canada. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's WorldTour. She has worked in both print and digital publishing, and started with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. Moving into a Production Editor's role in 2014, she produces and publishes international race coverage for all men's and women's races including Spring Classics, Grand Tours, World Championships and Olympic Games, and writes and edits news and features. As the Women's Editor at Cyclingnews, Kirsten also coordinates and oversees the global coverage of races, news, features and podcasts about women's professional cycling.
Most Popular
By Jackie Tyson
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Thank you for signing up to The Pick. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
Unbound Gravel - the making of an epic everything race
Nathan Haas on the meteoric rise of the biggest gravel race in the history of the fledgling sport -
10 contenders at Unbound Gravel 200 – Who can challenge Slik and Villafañe?
Five of the women's and men's favourites, and a few surprises, in the chase for supremacy in the Flint Hills of Kansas in 2023 -
Warbasse 'fit but fatigued', headed to Unbound Gravel 200 after Giro d'Italia
Grand Tour 'one of the best ways you could prepare' for Unbound -
Criterium du Dauphine 2023 start list
Starters for the WorldTour stage race from June 4-11