Excelling in the Classics again may have been the focus for Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) in the early part of the 2025 season, but the work toward the world champion's Tour de France Femmes aspirations is now taking centre-stage, beginning at Vuelta a Burgos Feminas on Thursday.
Up until this year, 2023 winner Demi Vollering has been the main overall card for SD Worx-Protime at the French Grand Tour, but with the Dutch now at FDJ-Suez, Kopecky is dedicating her attention towards recapturing another of cycling's top prizes, the yellow jersey, for her team. The versatile rider has already come second at the race in 2023, and also clinched the runner-up spot at the Giro d'Italia Women in 2024 to prove her climbing credentials. With its varied terrain, the four-stage Vuelta a Burgos from May 22 to 25 will be her first stage race this season and her first real test of how she is progressing this year ahead of her mid-season goal.
"I am very eager to race again," Kopecky, who last pinned on a number at Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes nearly a month ago, said in a team statement. "I finished the spring with a relatively positive and fresh feeling. That fresh feeling was because I haven't raced as much this season.
