Lotte Kopecky is proving once again why she is the world champion. In what was an exquisite display of cycling, the Belgian athlete claimed her maiden mountaintop victory as she dominated the UAE Tour. However, her road to glory was anything but a joyride. Kopecky was constantly threatened by the other competitors who breathed on her neck until the last moment. However, it was the 28-year-old champion who managed to hold her nerves and, in the end, walk away with a victory. 

The class act that Kopecky put up demonstrated her determination and skills in climbing. With the season starting on a great note for the Belgian, let’s dive deeper to find out how exactly the race panned out and what are the challenges that Kopecky had to overcome. 

Lotte Kopecky scripts cycling glory

Lotte Kopecky, who is a part of the SD Worx-Protime, not only secured her victory at the UAE Tour but also established a sizeable lead ahead of the women’s peloton for the overall classification. Elated by the performance she dished out, the 28-year-old acknowledged the fact that winning the first-ever mountaintop was a special and crazy moment for her. 

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Elaborating further on her race, Kopecky stated that she was utterly determined and focused for the race while testing her limits to see how far she could climb. The Belgian further said that she always had the dream of winning, but to be able to accomplish the goal, in reality, was a huge boost for Kopecky going forward into the season. 

Kopecky also doubled down on her strategy to win the race. She said, “I went kilometer by kilometer because I know on this climb, your legs always hurt and in 30 seconds it can go from having a good rhythm to blowing up.” However, Kopecky got a bit tense and panicked when the Canyon girl went past her. However, ultimately, she was able to find her rhythm and power through. In the words of Kopecky, “Once I felt that I came closer again, I was kind of confident that I could make it.”

With the Belgian basking in glory, let’s look at how the entire race went. 

Kopecky’s road to victory

As the race began, fierce competition between the SD Worx-Protime and Lidl-Trek was pretty much on the cards. Surely enough, as the race commenced on the terrains of Jebel Hafeet, Gaia Realini, the runner-up from 2023 put her feet on the accelerator. This aggressive strategy drew away a significant amount of elite athletes from the herd. 

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However, things took a wild turn when Neve Bradbury, a Canyon SRAM rider launched an all-out attack with just three kilometers remaining. Interestingly, this is where Kopecky’s champion’s mentality came into play. The Belgian powered through with a steady pace, and at about 800m to go, overtook her to clinch the victory in a dramatic manner. 

This victory would mean a lot to Lotte Kopecky, as this would further establish that her Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift last year’s victory was nowhere a fluke. 

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