🚴🌈 | Marianne Vos wint het wereldkampioenschal gravel in Leuven! Ze verslaat Lotte Kopecky in een sprint-a-deux! De GOAT 🐐🐐 #Leuven2024 📺 Koers stream je op HBO Max
Kopecky would have done things differently in the sprint but also calls out Gravel World Championship organizers
CyclingSaturday, 05 October 2024 at 15:27
Lotte Kopecky entered the Gravel World Championships for fun, she said before the race between Halle and Leuven in Belgium. Nearly 135 kilometers and plenty of fun later, the Belgian found herself in second place, losing in a two-rider sprint to Dutch cyclist Marianne Vos.
Kopecky led the race throughout the day and eventually only Vos remained in her wake, but in the end, she had to concede to the cunning Vos. At 200 meters from the finish, Vos launched her explosive sprint, leaving Kopecky (who had just won the road race in the World Championships in Zürich) unable to follow suit.
"It’s no shame to come in second after Marianne," Kopecky remarked. "It was my first gravel race, but it was very different from what I’m used to. It was fun, but I had a lot of issues with my lower back towards the end. It felt like it was exploding. That was terrible because you have to keep pushing through all those bumps and potholes. It really bothered me."
Vos tried to put pressure on Kopecky in the final kilometers, but the Belgian countered strongly uphill. However, in the sprint, she could not match her competitor. "I should have approached it differently, but with Marianne, you never know. I should have started earlier," admitted the SD Worx-Protime rider.
Read more below the video!
Kopecky calls out Gravel World Championship organizers
Despite this, the Flemish rider was the one driving the pace during the race. "After 36 kilometers, I attacked, and the group started to thin out. Then I attacked again, and only the two of us were left. At that point, I knew we would ride to the finish together," said Kopecky.
"I tried to put some pressure on the uphill, but she was just incredibly strong," she acknowledged before making an appeal to the camera. "I really enjoyed it, with all those people cheering on the sidelines, but I do want to point out one thing to the organizers. There's been a lot of talk about safety in the past few days, and there’s a part of the course, where we re-enter Halle, that is simply irresponsible. I hope they can make changes to that section."
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Latest Comments
- Van Aert is really handsome. He can influence me all day! Ditto for Philipsen. Why do you think many of us love cycling?: to see heroic attempts at climbing mountains at high altitudes or to watch speedsters sprint for the finish line or to watch a human being ride at break neck speed down a tricky descent? No, it's all about their lean physiques and muscular legs. (apologies for objectifying these dedicated and amazing athletes).BarwonHeadsUp25-10-2024
- It is unfortunate that the author can't feel the joy that Pogacar brings to the sport and his fans who are legion and I for one feel lucky to have watched such a memorable performance and historic season From the Strada until yesterday with multiple wins in stages in both tours and beyond dominance in the World's. He is proud to wear the Rainbow stripes, shows his leadership to protect his fellows and is as courteous and sportsman-like as the sport allows. He goes early to not have to respond to each attack as all the rest would make him do it. Any racer who could would do the same. Don't "grow tired" of greatness as it is always fleeting.ccrider13-10-2024
- What load of rubbish. Pog is likely a once in a generation cyclist, the like of which hasn't been seen since 'the Cannibal '. How many people were complaining that Merckx was making racing predictable? I remember this year's World RR as one of the most exciting I've watched. Mainly BECAUSE Pog was the favourite and launched what everyone thought (Pog included) was a suicidal attack with 80km to go. For the next 2 hours, I was on the edge of my seat thinking "this is too much, even for Pog". Maybe Zonnefeld prefers the snooze-fest that is a bunch sprint? Like most people I know, I can't watch two hours of the bunch riding very fast... I wait for the final 5km and watch just the sprint. In any event, most races are won from a sprint or lone break. What difference does it make who makes the lone break? Ultimately, the other contenders will have to figure out a way to beat Pog. Even if that means collaboration between teams. It's going to be an exciting few seasons, until the next Pog arrives on the scene. If this is boring, heaven knows what exciting looks like!Michael513-10-2024
- This is not a gravel race. UCI fail, from the surface they are on to team tactics. In what country was the first "gravel race" in what country is the most popular gravel race? Go with the race model that created the discipline.
Barnes127411-10-2024 - And don't forget he has now won 4 of the big 10 races (Grand tours, Monuments and WC/OG) in one year with a chance to make that 5. (5 has only been done once before)Joostmehrtens05-10-2024