In a heartfelt message on Instagram, Lotte Kopecky opened up about how she feels about this past spring season. The Flemish rider from SD Worx–Protime revealed that she struggled with a lingering knee issue over the winter, which affected her preparation more than anyone knew. She also admitted that all the media commentary had made her start to doubt herself.
Kopecky won the Tour of Flanders and helped her teammate Lorena Wiebes take victories in Milan–San Remo and Gent–Wevelgem. In the Ardennes Classics, she raced solely for her own chances, which resulted in a fifth-place finish at Liège–Bastogne–Liège. “Looking at how my winter went, I should be very happy with my win in the Tour of Flanders and with my spring overall,” she had said after the race in Liège.
That remark needed some context, because up until Sunday, little had been known about Kopecky’s struggles over the winter. A few days after her final spring classic, she clarified things in a personal message. “I wasn’t looking for excuses, and being straightforward is something I believe in. Maybe I should’ve thought twice before saying I should be happy with my spring.”
“But I was really done with all the opinions and high expectations. I truly felt like I just wasn’t good enough anymore.” Lotte Kopecky didn’t hold back in explaining how overwhelming the outside pressure became. “We need the media. But sometimes it’s hard to hear what people say about you without them having any idea what’s going on in our lives. We set goals, but that doesn’t mean we reach all of them. In the end, we lose more than we win,” she summarized.