Lotte Kopecky will revise her rainbow-jersey ambitions on the track at the upcoming Glasgow World Championships, removing the Madison from her competition line-up for the foreseeable future after her event partner Shari Bossuyt returned a positive test for the banned substance Letrozole in March.
Kopecky spoke with Cyclingnews at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift in Clermont-Ferrand before the race began, revealing that she will focus on the Elimination Race, Points Race, and Omnium on the track and then the elite women's road race at the first-ever combined World Championships held from August 3-13.
Kopecky and Bossuyt are the reigning world champions in Madison, having won their world titles at the 2022 Worlds in Saint Quentin en Yvelines, France. It was Kopecky's second world title in the event, having also also taken victory with partner Jolien D'hoore in Hong Kong in 2017, the first time the women's Madison was offered at the Worlds. Kopecky is also the reigning world champion in the Elimination Race.
"I will do three events on the track and the road race," Kopecky confirmed. Asked if she was disappointed to remove the Madison event from her line-up at Worlds, she said, "It's pretty hard, yes, but at this moment, I hope for Shari that she can prove that she is innocent; that is the most important thing."
Bossuyt, who is under contract with Canyon-SRAM on the road, and her manager have told the team that her A and B samples tested positive for Letrozole. She now awaits a final verdict from the French Agence française de lutte contre le dopage (AFLD), who carried out the test on March 19 during the Tour de Normandie Féminin. Canyon-SRAM extended her contract on April 5 but has put her on 'provisionally non-active' status.
Kopecky said any future plans for that event are on hold given that she does not have a partner. She also said the Belgium national team will replace her and Bossuyt with a pair of up-and-coming riders for the Madison in Glasgow.
"For these Worlds, we are sending two young riders, Hélène Hesters and Katrijn De Clercq; we will see how they do it. For the Olympics, nothing is really for sure, you have to qualify, of course, but nothing is for sure about what we will do; it will be clear in the next months."
Kopecky competed at the Tokyo Olympic Games and finished fourth in the road race. However, in the Madison and Omnium, bad luck and crashes prevented her from achieving her goal of winning a gold medal. She will focus on the road and the Omnium at the upcoming Paris Olympics and with the Madison dependent on Bossuyt's case or if she has a new partner.
"At this moment, my ambitions are only in the Omnium, but we will see in the next months how these young girls develop and how the case with Shari develops; it's not something I can answer at this moment," Kopecky said.
"At this moment, I haven't been training for the Madison. In the next months, if we go to the Olympics, of course, we will pick it up again."
In Glasgow, Kopecky will focus on the three track events and the road race with a team that includes Sanne Cant, Julie de Wilde, Justine Ghekiere, Marthe Goossens, Lone Meertens and Marthe Truyen.
"I have ambitious goals on the track and the road at the Worlds," said Kopecky, who is currently competing at the Tour de France Femmes where she won the opening stage to take the first leader's jersey of the eight-day race that finishes in Pau on Sunday.
She noted that the racing at the Tour de France Femmes fits perfectly with her preparations for the World Championships.
"I also think, if you have this Tour de France, which is positioned within the next two weeks before Worlds, you will not do this super big training anymore. With the track being very short efforts, racing the Tour de France is very good planning for the road race on Sunday, August 13. I think it's very manageable all together."
Kopecky finished a close second place at the Wollongong Worlds after Annemiek van Vleuten (Netherlands) made a surprise last-kilometre attack and crossed the line solo to win the world title just ahead of the sprint. She also finished 16th in the Flanders Worlds in 2022.
"It will be a completely different course in Glasgow. It's a course that really suits me, but it also suits a lot of other riders. I go there with the ambition of becoming the world champion, but I also know it will be a hard task," Kopecky said.
"The chances that it doesn't work out are bigger than if it will work out. We are going there with six other riders, who will get 200% support, so I hope the race scenario is to our advantage and we can make an unforgettable day of it."
At the Tour de France Femmes, SD Worx supports Demi Vollering for the overall title and Lorena Wiebes in the sprints, while Kopecky has been given a wildcard role to win stages.
She confirmed she would not leave the Tour de France Femmes early, ahead of the GC-decisive penultimate stage 7 Tourmalet. "I will race the whole Tour," said Kopecky, the double Belgium Champion looking ahead to the finale time trial.
"If I still feel fresh, I will go all out in the time trial. I'll see where this race brings me. If I feel that it's been enough, I will go easy in the time trial and try to make it a good recovery day."
