Lotte Kopecky sprints to second place after colouring course in Omloop Het Nieuwblad

Lotte Kopecky sprints to second place after colouring course in Omloop Het Nieuwblad

"I hoped for more"

24/02/2024

Lotte Kopecky sprinted to second place in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. The world champion accelerated on the Muur and the Bosberg, reducing the leading group to four riders, a Lidl-Trek duo (Elisa Longo-Borghini & Shirin Van Anrooij) and Marianne Vos. Lidl-Trek alternately attacked, after which Kopecky invariably responded to the counters. In the sprint, the world champion was second after Marianne Vos. "I did everything I could and rode quite a good race, but Marianne was just faster in the end," said an honest Kopecky.

Linked race Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2024 - Gekoppelde ploegleiders: Anna van der Breggen Lars Boom

Lotte Kopecky was disappointed after the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. "I have reached a point where I am no longer satisfied with second place. I did everything I could to make the difference. Lidl-Trek played it well by attacking in turns. I continuously had to pull the chestnuts out of the fire. If I don't do that, I'm riding for second place anyway. I rode quite a good race, but I had hoped for more of course. Marianne was just faster in the sprint. She was strong and then you know it's going to be tough to drop her. As a rider, I am happy for her that she is acting at this level again. I have a lot of respect for her. This was the first classic of the season. We rode a good race. There will normally be some more percentages extra in the coming time. I will give my best in the Strade Bianche and hope to do one more place better."

Sport director Lars Boom saw a strong performance from the team. "We are fine. We got into the pincers of Lidl-Trek a bit today. Marianne Vos has plenty of experience and dares to play poker. Lotte rode a strong course. This was only the first big race. Hopefully there will be a nice spring to come."

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