Lotte Kopecky wins Nokere Koerse four days after brother's death - ‘I really wanted to race no matter what’

Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx) won the women’s Nokere Koerse just four days after the death of her brother, Seppe Kopecky. Kopecky wasn’t meant to be on the start list but was announced to ride the one-day race on Tuesday. Ad A stunning solo break from the Belgian with 6km to go proved to be the decisive moment of the race and she won by 28 seconds from SD Worx team-mate Lorena Wiebes, with UAE Team ADQ’s Marta Bastianelli in third.

Vuelta a España'No one could touch him' — Reaction to 'phenomenal' Bennett's sprint triumph20/08/2022 AT 17:21 “I had made the choice to race today, last week,” said Kopecky. “I really wanted to race no matter what. “It was our goal to make it a hard race and I think we did." Asked about what went through her head when she attacked alone, Kopecky answered: “Not really a lot.

“These were not easy days. It’s just no use to let your head hang. I just wanted to race and I’m happy it worked out.

I think today, I raced with my head too.” An aggressive Kopecky launched her first attack with 84km to go on the Tiegemberg but the move was soon brought back. She went again with Jumbo-Visma’s Anna Henderson, only for the peloton to catch them. More attacks followed from various riders and on the cobbled Lange Aststraat, Kopecky went for a third time.

Kopecky was joined by Eleonora Gasparrini (UAE ADQ) as they caught leader Aude Biannic from Movistar. Then, Kopecky showed her strength and rode away to take an emotional win, crossing the line with her head bowed. Pidcock to miss Milano-San Remo with concussion after Tirreno-Adriatico crash ‘Capable of doing crazy stuff!’ – De Kleijn and Tudor Pro sprint to shock Milano-Torino win Merlier wins the men’s race In the men’s race, there were multiple crashes in the