The contrast with a year ago could hardly be greater. Where Lotte Kopecky started the season last winter with a lagging body and a head full of question marks, she now stands with peace, confidence and, above all, looking forward to racing again. The past year has been one of trial and error, literally and figuratively, but it is precisely that accumulation of setbacks that has also brought her something.
A knee injury in the winter disrupted her preparation, causing her to lag behind throughout the spring. Yet she still won the Tour of Flanders, proof that her class never really disappeared. Then the experiment outside her comfort zone began: classification ambitions in the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France Femmes. That’s where it went wrong. She was not conditionally ready for that role and that realization hit her hard. As if that wasn’t enough, a spinal fracture followed in the autumn after a fall in the Ardèche.
“It was a both-and story,” Kopecky now reflects Cycling flash. “After that bad winter, I continued to lag behind. The Tour was a huge goal, but I was probably not conditionally ready for it. Then everything falls into the water. I am happy that 2025 is over and hope that all the bad luck has come together in one season.”
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Back to what she knows
Yet there is surprisingly little regret. Not with Kopecky himself, not with the team. The past year is seen by everyone as a learning year. Precisely because she has tried, she now knows where her limits are. And that brings peace. The classification ambitions have been put aside, the focus is back on what made her great: winning races, riding fast in one-day races, racing instinctively.
“Now I can focus again on what I like to do and what I am good at. That is also the positive side of the story,” she says. Mentally it was tough at times, she admits. Without results, the self-evident motivation also disappears. “Then you wonder: what am I doing? But I also knew that I had to keep working, otherwise it will never come back.”
That mental reset was helped by a long, quiet winter. Since her fall in September, Kopecky was not at the start for months, but she did not sit still. Rehabilitate, build up, regain confidence in her body. Even a short New Year’s ski trip was part of that process. Not to escape, but to recharge the batteries.
“It’s been a long preparation. I didn’t want to feel like I’m done in March. Those few days away really helped.”
Heading into spring with confidence
The Kopecky who is now on the eve of the season is essentially the same rider, she says herself. But mentally she is different. This time no disadvantage, no condition below zero, but a good winter and a hunger for racing. The classic spring is again the big goal. Not out of nostalgia, but because she knows that is where her strength lies.
The pressure will be there again, she acknowledges. From himself, from the team, from outside. But that is not new territory. “If I am at the start in the right condition, I can deal with it. I have proven that in the past.”
The roles within the team are also more clearly defined. Together with Lorena Wiebes, expectations and collaboration were discussed openly. Not in terms of fixed schedules, but as a tandem in which both riders need each other. “It’s not simply: she sprints, I race freely. We will have to find solutions together.”
What remains is the feeling that Kopecky has returned to familiar territory. Away from experiments, away from doubt. Not because she has become less ambitious, but because she knows better where her strength lies. Sometimes you have to take a detour to get back to yourself.
In love
Finally, her relationship with Axel Merckx was also discussed, who (unexpectedly) made headlines in recent weeks. Kopecky emphasizes that she mainly draws strength from this. “The relationship can actually make me stronger, that’s the positive side,” she explains. “We are not keen on the headlines, but we are grateful that our privacy is largely respected. Of course it is a shame that one tabloid has come out with it, but it does not change how we feel about it.”
The Belgian champion does not want to make the subject bigger than necessary. “We are very happy together and that is what counts. We do not feel the need to justify ourselves to the outside world and we especially hope that it will blow over soon.” For Kopecky, the focus is once again entirely on the bike, where, after a difficult year, she wants to once again prove herself as the rider who dominated the peloton for years.
