Lotte Kopecky Wins Le Samyn Des Dames!

02 March 2021

Lotte Kopecky scores the first win for the Liv Racing WorldTeam at Le Samyn des Dames in Belgium. The success comes just three days after narrowly missing out on the podium at the road racing season opener Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday. “Now I’ve shown that the fast legs are there,” said Kopecky after Tuesday’s victory.

Le Samyn des Dames took place on Tuesday and was Liv Racing WorldTeam’s second race together. Coming off a delayed start to the road season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic but bolstered by a recent training camp, the team started with a strong result Saturday at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad where Lotte Kopecky finished fourth. Still disappointed in her finish, Kopecky was determined for redemption in Le Samyn.

Although Le Samyn is a relatively short race (92km), the difficulty was still high. The course had 15 cobblestone sections and six climbs followed by two and a half laps on an arduous finishing circuit with plenty of wind to make it even more interesting. The cobbles splintered the peloton early on, but the majority of Liv Racing WorldTeam’s riders remained in the lead group where they were could control the race. Several attempts to break away from the group were brought back and it became apparent that the race would end in a sprint. In the bunch sprint to the finish, Kopecky proved she was the strongest and crossed the line victorious aboard her Liv Langma team bike.

“We were perfectly in the race from start to finish as a team, we rode attentively at the front,” said Kopecky. “In the last kilometres, Alison Jackson broke away with a group – if she had stayed away, I would have been happy as well. When it became clear that it would end in a sprint, Evy Kuijpers kept me perfectly out of the wind in the last kilometre. As a result, I was able to start the final sprint relatively fresh.”

Next up, the Liv Racing WorldTeam will tackle the Italian classic Strade Bianche on Saturday, March 6.

Source:

https://www.liv-cycling.com/int/news/lotte-kopecky-wins-le-samyn-des-dames/25943