‘Just the way we like it’ – Lotte Kopecky announces ‘fully packed spring campaign’

Reigning Tour of Flanders champion Lotte Kopecky has announced her spring schedule, with nine major Classics filling her schedule along with a track meet at the UCI World Cup in Hong Kong and the Vuelta España Femenina.

Kopecky will get her season underway this Saturday at the Belgian season opener, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, where she’s set to join Lorena Wiebes and Anna van der Breggen in the SD Worx-Protime selection.

April kicks off with Dwars door Vlaanderen (April 1), her sole build-up race before the Tour of Flanders (April 5), where she’ll aim for her fourth title, and Paris-Roubaix Femmes (April 12).

Kopecky will then switch disciplines to the track, where she took European titles in the elimination, points race, and madison earlier this month. She’ll compete at the UCI World Cup in Hong Kong from April 17-19.

After that comes one last spring Classics appearance at Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes (April 26).

“Fully packed spring campaign, just the way we like it,” Kopecky wrote in an Instagram post announcing her schedule.

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Following the spring Classics, Kopecky will turn her attention to the stage racing season, with a first appearance at the Vuelta España Femenina since 2022 on the menu. Beyond May, her schedule is unannounced, though the UCI Road World Championships are a late-season goal.

Kopecky heads into 2026 in a better place than she was in 2025, when she started the year on the back foot before falling victim to a series of injuries throughout the season, which held her back from her main summer goal of challenging for the Tour de France Femmes.

“When I was sitting here last year [January], I was not even riding the bike. Physically, I was just not good enough. I tried to limit the losses, but I lost all my winter training. For me, it had followed me all season. That was the main problem,” Kopecky said earlier this year.

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In the same interview, she indicated that she wouldn’t lead SD Worx-Protime at the Tour this year, noting that she preferred the “wildcard position” at the Grand Tours.

“I have a lot of possibilities in the Spring Classics. I think it was nice to improvise for one year, but now I want to get back to what I’m good at and where I know I can be really confident,” she said.

“These are races that I really love to do, the races I like the most, and the most important part of the season will be the first three months. Those are the races that I am looking forward to. Then there are the World Championships in Canada.

“I’m hungry to race again and hungry to win again. 2025 is what it is; it wasn’t great, but it wasn’t extremely bad either. I’m looking forward to 2026.”

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