Kopecky takes decisive win in penultimate stage of UAE Tour on Jebel Hafeet

After paving the way for her teammate Lorena Wiebes to win the first two sprint stages of the UAE Tour, it was Lotte Kopecky’s turn to take the spotlight on the penultimate stage on Jebel Hafeet on Saturday.

The Team SD Worx Protime’s Belgian world champion won the 126.5-kilometre Stage 3 ahead of Australian Neve Bradbury (Canyon//Sram Racing) and Spain’s Margarita Garcia (Liv-AlUla-Jayco) to take a commanding position in the general classification.

“This is my first mountain top finish victory. It's crazy. I was very motivated for this stage. I dreamt of this and I hoped for it but I first had to see how deep I could go,” Kopecky said.

“I went kilometre by kilometre, knowing that legs hurt on this climb. In a few seconds it could turn from having it into blowing up. I was in a little bit of panic when the Canyon girl [Bradbury] attacked.

“But I found my rhythm. I came closer and I was confident I could make it. I came here for preparation for the Spring classics. It's important for my confidence to get to know that the shape is already good enough for winning a stage race.”

Gaia Realini, the runner up last year, was the first to draw an elite group away from the rest of the bunch, but when Bradbury attacked with just under three kilometres remaining, only Kopecky was able to go with her.

She went past Bradbury with 800 metres remaining and pulled clear of the Australian for her first victory of the 2024 season.

Realini finished 32 seconds behind the winner in fourth spot and her Lidl-Trek teammate and reigning UAE Tour Women champion Elisa Longo Borghini was a minute and nine seconds down in seventh.