Lotte Kopecky may have cemented her position as one of the very best road and track riders in the world last year but the Belgian rider has still decided to split from her coach and is now self-coached. She also reports losing 3.5kg during the winter, saying while she was never "fat", she felt her weight was something she could work on.
The 27-year-old Team SD Worx rider last year won Tour of Flanders, Strade Bianche Donne and the Belgian national road title, among a whole host of victories, including two gold medals on the track at both the Europeans and the Worlds.
“I lost 3.5 kilograms. I wasn't too fat, I could climb well enough, otherwise you won't win the Strade Bianche and the Tour of Flanders," she said. "But let's just say there was room for improvement.
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"Because of that weight loss I don't lose power, because that's dangerous. I now mainly see the advantages of it and should be able to climb even better. I'm still kicking the same values. Those extra percentages can make a difference."
She said she is not concerned about the move to be self-coached after splitting from her long-term coach ahead of her season debut today, Thursday, in the elimination race the European Track Championships; an event she is world and European champion in.
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In the year ahead she says she needs to chase Olympic qualification points on the track and also wants to target wins in the biggest road races, meaning she will at times need to race less on the road.
"That is an adjustment, because I am someone who likes to ride a lot of races and gain self-confidence from that," she told Het Nieuwsblad.
"I can hardly race with the handbrake on, I aim for the big races: Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Strade Bianche, Gent-Wevelgem, Ronde van Vlaanderen, Paris-Roubaix and Amstel God Race. Then I will go to the Nations Cup on the track in Milton, Canada, to collect points for the Games again.”
Having parted company with coach Kieran de Fauw, Kopecky said she now "put together my own training schedules and execute them the way I want".
"I've done a lot of that myself in recent years. Actually, not much has really changed. I also feel that it works, so there is no reason to look for a coach. I know myself and I also know that I'm not ready for that yet. Even though I get a lot of applications," she laughed.
"I enjoy the support of Belgian Cycling. And in my SD Worx team, Anna van der Breggen and Lars Boom can also make adjustments if necessary.”
