Lotte Kopecky’s reputation as an all-rounder was bolstered once again at the European individual time trial championships. The 28-year-old world road champion was crowned European time trial champion with an amazing time of 39.00 minutes. In doing so, she completed the 31.3-kilometre time trial a whopping 43.6 seconds faster than silver medallist Ellen Van Dijk. “To become European champion for the first time, in my own country is truly wonderful,” she said after her dominant ride.
Lotte Kopecky added, “Somehow I enjoyed this time trial, thanks to a realistic pace plan. At the start I immediately felt that the prescribed numbers were ‘easily’ achievable and that I always had some reserve. I was happy that I was always able to achieve the prescribed power levels. However, I had to learn how best to divide my effort in a 31.3-kilometre time trial. Between kilometre ten and five of the end you could make a huge difference. There the wind was completely against us. This European title is for me confirmation that I made the right choice by riding the time trial on the European Championships and skipping the road race.”
