Opinion: On Lotte Kopecky and Team SD Worx - Winners who could yet take it all in 2022

Is Lotte Kopecky the next superstar of women’s cycling? Or is her team a dominant, dynastic force to be reckoned with, one to rival any we’ve seen in the modern era of the sport? Hyperbole perhaps, and it is probably too early in the season to tell either way, but there is a frightening possibility that the answer may in fact be “both.” Ad/> To scrutinise the second question first, there was certainly something terrifyingly, professionally efficient about the way SD Worx delivered Kopecky to victory in Oudenaarde on Sunday afternoon. /> Ronde van VlaanderenRonde van Vlaanderen Women highlights as Lotte Kopecky beats Annemiek van Vleuten10 HOURS AGO From flag drop to finale, their riders were everywhere. Well, not literally everywhere, but everywhere they could be to influence the race in their favour.

They had nobody in the break, of course, but once the escapees had gone, the SD Worx clan, most of whom were wearing their own national champions’ uniforms, received no less TV time than those riders up the road. It was almost as if Kopecky, rather than dressed in the driekleur, was in the leader’s jersey of a stage race, which they were tasked with the responsibility of honouring. In the first half of the race, for kilometre after kilometre, they controlled the pace of the peloton, protecting not just their leader, but their leader’s chances.

There was no hedging here, nor hiding the fact that they were all-in for Kopecky. Seldom do we see a display of confidence like we did today. Even more rare is for it to never look under threat.