There were around thirty minutes of racing remaining and it seemed as if the defending champion was losing all hope of winning. This, especially since, in front, Demi Vollering, her teammate at SD Worx-Protime for a few more weeks, was working hard to get rid of a rival who she knew was superior in the sprint.
But Kopecky, although pushed, did not panic and ended up getting back to the leading group, which initially had nine runners, before being reduced to four units, then recovering two elements. The Italian Longo-Borghini tried to escape and forced the Dutch favorite, who is still missing the rainbow jersey, to make the effort. During this time, Kopecky did not give a useless pedal stroke and patiently bided her time, that of the sprint, of which she was the great favorite thanks to her qualities as a track rider.
The Australian Roseman-Gannon, who had spent a good part of the day in the lead with the Belgian Justine Ghekière (finally 7th), best climber of the last Tour de France, launched a last banderilla before Longo-Borghini, again, began the final packaging 250 meters from the finish line. Glued to the coattails of a very nervous Vollering, Lotte Kopecky stayed in her wheel as long as possible, before making short work of it in the sprint and heading towards the world title.
She may not have been the strongest, but she was undoubtedly the smartest of them all. With two bikes ahead of Chloé Dygert, 2nd, and much more ahead of Longo-Borghini, 3rd, our compatriot had plenty of time to jubilate. First with her arms horizontal, she angrily beat her chest, just to show who was boss. She had perfectly managed a race made very complicated by incessant rain and the cold (the thermometer barely exceeded ten degrees). “The start of the day had been difficult with the minute of silence in tribute to the young runner who died yesterday (Editor’s note: Swiss Furrer), she commented. It was a trying moment that you never want to experience.”
guillementWith three laps to go, I was frozen.
Even if she had taken advantage of the week to regain confidence after her disappointment in the time trial (5th), the Belgian Sportswoman of the Year 2023 will admit to having had bad feelings for quite a long time during the 154.1 kilometers. “With three laps to go, I was frozen. In fact, I was too hot on the climbs and cold on the descentsshe confided. But I always tried to stay focused on what I had to do, even if it wasn’t easy.”
guillementI tried to stay in my bubble.
In the last kilometers, she still had to deal with bouts of bad mood from a visibly very nervous Vollering. “There too, I tried to stay in my bubble, not to let myself be distractedshe will affirm. I wanted to stay in my race and use my energy at the right times.”
Which she did very intelligently. “It’s more a victory of the head than of the legs”she admitted.
Olympic bronze and world gold in two months
By retaining her world title, the native of Rumst imitates Marianne Vos, Giorgia Brongini, Jeannie Longo and other Leontien van Moorsel… She confirms that she is currently one of the best specialists in one-day races, if not the best . His prize list indicates, in fact, three Monuments (Paris-Roubaix and twice the Tour of Flanders), two Strade Bianche. And this summer, she also entered the very prestigious caste of Olympic medalists (3rd in the road race).
What’s more, her field of action is not limited to that, since she also finished second in the Tour de France last year. And for the next twelve months, she will once again wear the iridescent jersey, that of intelligence and excellent management of events.
