Lotte Kopecky sympathizes with unfortunate Van Aert: “Glad that I didn’t put everything on two games”

The fall of Wout van Aert and Jasper Stuyven in Dwars door Vlaanderen continues to resonate. World champion Lotte Kopecky also shuddered when she saw the images. “I don’t want to know how hard he worked to be good on Sunday.”

With Kopecky, Belgium still has a favorite for the Tour of Flanders, but for the ladies. That other Flemish hope hit the asphalt hard on Wednesday. The consequences are known. Wout van Aert, like man-in-form Jasper Stuyven, has to make a cross about his spring. The first thought that came to Kopecky’s mind was one of compassion for all the training work that Van Aert had done for nothing in recent weeks and months.

“I’m very happy that I didn’t focus fully on two games like he did,” says Kopecky. “I have tried to be there from the start of the season and have already got some nice victories under my belt. If I crashed yesterday and my season had been over, at least I would have had something. Sometimes the danger is really in a small corner.”

“Of course I sympathize with him. I don’t want to know how hard he worked to get to Sunday and Roubaix. He’s been chasing it for a while now. This must be very hard.”

Hold off pressure

The Flemish hope will rest a little more on Kopecky’s shoulders on Sunday, but she can laugh about that. “That was very much the case. I’ll just go into Sunday with the same mindset and try to keep the pressure off as much as possible.”

Kopecky’s popularity is now reaching proportions that approach those of Evenepoel and Van Aert. “Pretty special,” she says. “Sometimes very tiring. (laughs) I’m of course happy that we are at this point and that I can be part of it. That extra attention can be very nice, but sometimes you would rather not have it. I sometimes have to drive past people who ask for a photo or selfie at a time when there is no time for it. Then I find it annoying for those people.”

On Sunday, Kopecky doesn’t know what to expect. “On Wednesday, Lidl-Trek wanted to make the race tough, especially until neutralization. The Balsamo factor will be added on Sunday. They then go for a hard course again with the risk of running her dry. If they take a more wait-and-see approach, they might also take Vos to the finish. Lidl-Trek is stronger across the board and Vos is certainly someone to take into account. She will be a very tough customer.”