Lotte Kopecky saw her chances of further Paris-Roubaix Femmes success drift down the cobbles of northern France after a momentary loss of position on one of the race’s key pavé sectors.
The SD Worx-Protime rider ultimately crossed the line fourth, bettering Megan Jastrab (UAE Team ADQ) in a sprint for the minor places, but it’ll be little consolation to the two-time road world champion and 2024 winner of the Hell of the North.
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“I was too far [back] on Mons-en-Pévèle,” Kopecky began, before adding that at first, all hope wasn’t lost when a group of four went away. “We had Blanka [Vas] in it, so actually it was good.”
She had attempted to keep the time gap to the lead group in check but when Vas was dropped – leaving just Franziska Koch (FDJ United-Suez), Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike) out front – the team’s race hopes hung by a thread.
Kopecky didn’t make any excuses for the missed opportunity of adding another Paris-Roubaix title to her palmarès, though.
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