Lotte Kopecky

Early life Kopecky started cycling at the age of nine. Like her brother, she focused on cyclo-cross. She then joined the Topsport School which combines sports practice with studies. But since cyclo-cross is not an Olympic discipline, a necessary condition to be part of the curriculum, she switched to road and track cycling.

Career

Youth years Aged 16, Kopecky became Belgian junior time trial champion in 2012, and second in the road race. In Valkenburg, Netherlands, she finished 11th in the woman junior's time trial during the 2012 UCI Road World Championships. A year later, she finished seventh and ninth in the time trial and road race at the European Championships in Olomouc, Czech Republic and she won silver at the Belgian Junior Women's Time Trial Championship.

In track cycling, Kopecky achieved good results from her youth. She won several Belgian titles as a novice and junior. In 2012, she rode her first international championship. At the 2013 UEC European Junior Championships, Kopecky won the points race and the individual pursuit, and became third in the team pursuit.

2014-2018 In both 2014 and 2015, she won the golden medal in the national track championships individual pursuit and the silver medal at the national championships for the elite road race.

Kopecky signed for Lotto–Soudal Ladies in November 2015. In May 2016, she won her first professional road race, the Trofee Maarten Wynants. After competing in the time trial and road race at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, she won the youth classification of the Lotto Belgium Tour in September.

That year, she also won the national Under-23 road race and time trial championships, which she also managed to do in 2017. Kopecky also grabbed silver in the 2017 national elite road race.

Lotte Kopecky and Jolien D'Hoore managed to win the golden medal in the Madison discipline at the 2017 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, after they won the European title in 2016.

Kopecky dominated the 2017 national track championships, winning the Omnium, Scratch and Points race.

In 2018, in addition to some places of honor, she won the points classification in the Belgium Tour.

2019–2022 In February 2019, Kopecky managed to win the inaugural Vuelta a la Comunitat Valenciana Feminas. She became the national elite time trial champion later that year. In 2020, she managed to win both the national elite time trial and road race championship. She finished second in Gent–Wevelgem, after Jolien D'Hoore, and third in the Tour of Flanders. Lotte Kopecky participated in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, finishing 4th in the individual road race.

Kopecky signed with the prestigious SD Worx team in June 2021, believing that she would be surrounded by stronger cyclists. After winning the final stage, she won the general classification of the Belgium Tour, as well as the points classification. She also won the final stage of the Challenge by La Vuelta, and the points classification. And like the year before, Kopecky managed to win both the national time trial and road race championship.

During the 2021 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, she won the golden medal in the Points race, and the silver medal in the Elimination and Omnium disciplines.

In 2022, she won the classics Strade Bianche and Tour of Flanders, and ended as second in Paris–Roubaix Femmes.

Kopecky won the points classification of the Vuelta a Burgos Feminas and finished as first in one stage. At the world championships road race in Wollongong, Australia, she seemed to be on her way to her first world title, but due to an unexpected attack by Annemiek Van Vleuten she had to settle for a silver medal.

2022 proved to be a successful year in track cycling, with a world title in the Elimination and Madison (with Shari Bossuyt) and a European title in the Elimination and Points race.

In November 2022, after being a couple for more than three years, Kopecky ended her relationship with Kieran De Fauw. As he was also her coach, she decided to continue without a coach and to coach herself.

2023–present Kopecky won the classic 2023 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Nokere Koerse, and after an early escape she won the Tour of Flanders for the second time in a row.

She ranked second in the 2023 Tour de France Femmes and won the first stage and the points classification. On 13 August 2023 Kopecky won the Road Race at the World Championships in Balloch, Great Britain. As the big favorite for the final victory, she was able to arrive solo after a nervous race.

Kopecky became World and European champion Elimination and also won the Points race during the 2023 World Track Championships in Glasgow, Scotland. On national level, in the Vlaams Wielercentrum Eddy Merckx, she became Belgian champion in the Individual pursuit, Points race, Omnium, Elimination and Madison (with Shari Bossuyt). After receiving several national and international cycling awards in late 2023, she was also voted Belgian of the Year.

In February 2024, Kopecky extended her contract with SD Worx-Protime until 2028. By then, she already had won the general and sprints classification of the UAE Tour Women. In March, Kopecky won the classic Strade Bianche for a second time, and succeeded herself in Nokere Koerse. She also managed to win Paris–Roubaix Femmes, after a powerful sprint.

At the Tour of Britain in June 2024, Kopecky won two stages and finished first in the general and points classification. The same month, she won the Belgian road race and time trial championship once more. Kopecky was a big favorite to win the gold medal in the Olympic road race in Paris, but had to settle for a bronze medal. Despite the French doping agency acknowledging that the use of letrozole metabolite was not intentional, her partner Shari Bossuyt was suspended for 2 years. This forced Kopecky to adjust her ambitions for the Madison event at the Olympics and championships to follow.

After winning the general and mountains classifications in the Tour de Romandie, Kopecky won the Time trial at the UEC European Championships. She extended her road race world championship title at the UCI World Championships in Zurich, Switzerland. In the final lap she experienced several difficult moments uphill, but she could handle her race tactically and win the sprint finish. At the 2024 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, Kopecky ended as second in both the Elimination and Points race, finishing her season with nine medals at a major championship.

In 2025, after a winter beset by knee problems, she chose to skip the opening weekend. Kopecky helped her teammate Lorena Wiebes to victory in Milan–San Remo. She herself eventually finished ninth. After previously failing to escape for a solo finish, she also acted as pacemaker for winner Lorena Wiebes in the final of a chaotic Gent–Wevelgem. In Dwars door Vlaanderen, Kopecky ended second after an outstanding Elisa Longo Borgini. Kopecky then won the Tour of Flanders for a record third time, winning in a sprint finish. The rest of the season was "dramatic" as she put it herself: she left the Giro, rode a disappointing Tour de France, skipped the 2025 UCI Road World Championships and a vertebra fracture prevented her from competing at the Track World Championships.

Having skipped the 2025 UEC European Track Championships and missed the 2025 UCI Track Cycling World Championships through injury, Kopecky returned to the track in 2026 and in February won three European titles: Elimination, Points Race and the Madison, which she won together with Shari Bossuyt.

Personal life Kopecky's great-grandfather was Czech. Off the bike, she enjoys spending time with family and friends and is known for her down-to-earth personality. Her brother struggled with depression and died by suicide in 2023. Kopecky and her family went through a difficult period. She later admitted that she would never have started cycling without him.

"To be honest, I didn't even like cycling. But Seppe did it, I looked up to him, and so I just joined. It was only later that I realized how crazy that choice actually was, because there were many sports that I was good at and I could have chosen another one for the same reason." Kopecky mentioned in a 2023 interview.

Kopecky is married to Axel Merckx, the son of cycling legend Eddy Merckx.

Career achievements Major results Road Source:

2010 1st Time trial, National Novice Championships 1st Time trial, Antwerp Provincial Novice Championships 2011 1st Time trial, National Novice Championships 1st Time trial, Antwerp Provincial Novice Championships 2012 National Junior Championships 1st Time trial 2nd Road race UEC European Junior Championships

5th Road race 2013 2nd Time trial, National Junior Championships 2nd Time trial, Antwerp Provincial Junior Championships 3rd Road race, Flanders Regional Junior Championships UEC European Junior Championships 7th Time trial 9th Road race 8th Overall Junior Energiewacht Tour 1st Sprints classification 2014 National Championships 1st Under-23 road race 1st Under-23 time trial 2nd Road race 1st 's Gravenwezel 3rd Kieldrecht–Prosperpolder 10th Diamond Tour 2015 National Championships 1st Under-23 road race 2nd Road race Antwerp Provincial Championships 1st Time trial 1st Road race 1st Herselt Koerse – Zuidkempense Ladies Classic 2nd Trofee Maarten Wynants 3rd Grote Prijs De Wielkeszuigers 5th Grand Prix de Dottignies 6th Dwars door Vlaanderen 2016 National Under-23 Championships 1st Road race 1st Time trial 1st Trofee Maarten Wynants National Championships 2nd Road race 2nd Time trial 2nd Gooik–Geraardsbergen–Gooik 4th Overall Belgium Tour 1st Young rider classification 6th Diamond Tour 8th Ljubljana–Domžale–Ljubljana TT 9th La Course by Le Tour de France 10th Gran Premio Bruno Beghelli 2017 National Under-23 Championships 1st Road race 1st Time trial 2nd Road race, National Championships 2nd Acht van Westerveld 5th Omloop van het Hageland 5th Tour of Flanders 5th Dwars door de Westhoek 6th Dwars door Vlaanderen 8th Overall Belgium Tour 9th Trofee Maarten Wynants 2018 2nd Time trial, National Championships 3rd Overall Belgium Tour 1st Points classification 1st Belgian rider classification 1st Stage 1 4th Veenendaal–Veenendaal Classic 5th Diamond Tour 7th Dwars door de Westhoek 2019 1st Time trial, National Championships 1st Vuelta a la Comunitat Valenciana 1st MerXem Classic 2nd Overall Belgium Tour 3rd Overall Tour of Chongming Island 3rd Nokere Koerse 3rd Three Days of Bruges–De Panne 3rd Dwars door de Westhoek 3rd Diamond Tour 4th RideLondon Classique 5th Ronde van Drenthe 6th Gent–Wevelgem 9th Le Samyn 2020 National Championships 1st Road race 1st Time trial 1st Stage 7 Giro Rosa 2nd Gent–Wevelgem 3rd Le Samyn 3rd Tour of Flanders 3rd Three Days of Bruges–De Panne 4th Brabantse Pijl 7th Road race, UEC European Championships 2021 National Championships 1st Road race 1st Time trial 1st Overall Belgium Tour 1st Points classification 1st Stage 3 1st Le Samyn Challenge by La Vuelta 1st Points classification 1st Stage 4 2nd Overall Thüringen Ladies Tour 1st Sprints classification 1st Stage 4 2nd Gent–Wevelgem 4th Road race, Summer Olympics 4th Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 4th Nokere Koerse 4th Classic Brugge–De Panne 4th Dwars door het Hageland 7th La Classique Morbihan 2022 1st Time trial, National Championships 1st Tour of Flanders 1st Strade Bianche Vuelta a Burgos 1st Points classification 1st Stage 1 UCI World Championships

9th Time trial 2nd Paris–Roubaix 2nd Nokere Koerse 3rd Ronde van Drenthe 4th Overall RideLondon Classique 4th Gent–Wevelgem 9th Classic Brugge–De Panne 2023 1st Road race, UCI World Championships National Championships 1st Road race 1st Time trial 1st Overall Thüringen Ladies Tour 1st Points classification 1st Stages 1 (TTT) & 6 1st Overall Simac Ladies Tour 1st Stage 2 & 4 1st Tour of Flanders 1st Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 1st Nokere Koerse 1st Arnhem–Veenendaal Classic 1st Dwars door het Hageland 2nd Overall Tour de France 1st Points classification 1st Stage 1 Held after Stages 1–6 Held after Stage 1 2nd Strade Bianche 2nd Amstel Gold Race

7th Paris–Roubaix 2024 UCI Road World Championships 1st Road race 5th Time trial 1st Time trial, UEC European Championships National Championships 1st Road race 1st Time trial 1st Overall UCI World Tour 1st Overall Tour of Britain 1st Points classification 1st Stages 1 & 2 1st Overall UAE Tour 1st Stage 3 1st Overall Simac Ladies Tour 1st Stage 6 1st Overall Tour de Romandie 1st Paris–Roubaix 1st Strade Bianche 1st Nokere Koerse 2nd Overall Giro d'Italia 1st Points classification 1st Stage 5 2nd Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2nd Trofeo Alfredo Binda Olympic Games

6th Time trial 4th Dwars door Vlaanderen 5th Tour of Flanders 2025 1st Time trial, National Championships 1st Tour of Flanders 2nd Dwars door Vlaanderen 5th Liège–Bastogne–Liège 9th Milan–San Remo 2026 1st Milan–San Remo 1st Nokere Koerse 4th Tour of Flanders 4th Paris–Roubaix La Vuelta Femenina

1st Stage 4

General classification results timeline Major Tour results timeline Stage race 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 La Vuelta Femenina — — 18 21 — — — Giro d'Italia 86 DNF — 42 —2 DNFTour de FranceRace did not exist 382 — 45 Stage race results timeline Stage race 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Thüringen Ladies Tour — —2 —1 — — Lotto Belgium Tour2 —1 —NH — — Holland Ladies Tour — — — —11 — UAE TourRace did not exist —1 — Tour of Britain —NH — —NH1 — Tour de RomandieNH — —1 —

Classics results timeline

Major championships results timeline

+ Legend — Did not compete DNF Did not finish NH Not held

Track

2010 National Novice Championships 1st Individual pursuit 2nd Team pursuit 3rd Omnium 3rd Scratch 2011 National Novice Championships 2nd Team sprint 3rd Team pursuit 3rd Keirin 3rd Individual pursuit 2012 National Junior Championships 2nd Individual pursuit 2nd Team pursuit 3rd Points race 3rd Keirin 2013 UEC European Junior Championships

National Junior Championships 2nd Omnium 2nd Team pursuit 3rd Points race 2014 National Championships 1st Individual pursuit 3rd 500m time trial 3rd Keirin 3rd Points race 3 Jours d'Aigle 1st Individual pursuit 1st Scratch 2nd Points race Belgian Xmas Meetings 1st Individual pursuit 2nd Points race 2nd Scratch

3rd Scratch, Open des Nations sur Piste de Roubaix 3rd Individual pursuit, International Belgian Open 2015 National Championships 1st Individual pursuit 2nd Scratch 2nd Omnium 2nd Points race 3 Jours d'Aigle 1st Individual pursuit 2nd Scratch 2nd Scratch, UCI World Cup, Cali 2016 UEC European Championships 1st Madison (with Jolien D'Hoore)

UEC European Under-23 Championships 1st Points race 1st Omnium National Championships 1st Omnium 2nd Scratch 2nd Individual pursuit 2nd Points race 1st Omnium, Six Days of Ghent Grand Prix of Poland 1st Points race 3rd Team pursuit 2nd Omnium, UCI World Cup, Glasgow Revolution Series, Glasgow 2nd Scratch 3rd Points race 2017 1st Madison, UCI World Championships (with Jolien D'Hoore) 2016–17 UCI World Cup

1st Omnium, Cali 2017–18 UCI World Cup 1st Points race, Pruszków 1st Madison, Pruszków 2nd Madison, Manchester National Championships 1st Omnium 1st Points race 1st Scratch Belgian International Track Meeting 1st Madison 3rd Omnium Zesdaagse Vlaanderen-Gent 2nd Madison 3rd Omnium 2018 International Belgian Track Meeting 1st Madison 1st Omnium UCI World Cup 3rd Madison, Berlin 3rd Madison, London 2019 UCI World Cup 1st Madison, Cambridge 2nd Madison, Hong Kong 2021 UCI World Championships 1st Points race

2022 UCI World Championships 1st Madison (with Shari Bossuyt) 1st Elimination UEC European Championships 1st Elimination 1st Points race 2023 UCI World Championships 1st Elimination 1st Points race

UEC European Championships 1st Elimination

National Championships 1st Individual pursuit 1st Points race 1st Omnium 1st Elimination 1st Madison (with Shari Bossuyt) 2024 UEC European Championships 1st Elimination 1st Points race

UCI World Championships

2026 UEC European Championships 1st Elimination 1st Points race 1st Madison (with Shari Bossuyt)

Cyclo-cross 2020–2021 2nd National Championships

Gravel 2024

Honours and awards

Belgian Promising Talent of the Year: 2017 Flandrienne of the Year: 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 Crystal Bicycle: 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 Trophy Patrick Sercu: 2022 Eddy Merckx Trophy: 2023, 2024 Belgian Sportswoman of the Year: 2023 Flemish Sportsjewel: 2023 HLN/VTM Belgian of the Year: 2023 Belgian National Sports Merit Award: 2024 Vélo d'Or: 2024, runner-up: 2022, 2023