It should not be be a surprise when Lotte Kopecky wins a bike race. The 28-year-old has won 47 of them across her career, including seven individual time trials before Wednesday. However, to win so dominantly at an elite TT, as she did this week at the European Championships, hints that there are bigger things to come for the Belgian.
She was not the favourite coming into the race, with former world champion Ellen van Dijk and Riejanne Markus both on the start list, but ended up winning from Van Dijk by 43 seconds on an incredibly flat course. It was a statement win, and one that puts her into the equation for victory at the World Championships in a fortnight.
