{"id":76054,"date":"2025-08-17T09:41:06","date_gmt":"2025-08-17T09:41:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/76054\/"},"modified":"2025-08-17T09:41:06","modified_gmt":"2025-08-17T09:41:06","slug":"czech-wonder-kid-kopecky-impresses-against-pedersen-along-with-the-newest-member-of-the-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/76054\/","title":{"rendered":"“Czech wonder kid” Kopecky impresses against Pedersen, along with the newest member of the team"},"content":{"rendered":"

Unibet Tietema Rockets<\/a> will have watched Saturday’s Tour of Denmark<\/a> with satisfaction. The Dutch cycling team, which rides under a French professional license, did not compete for the top spots in the final stage<\/a>, but saw its already announced 2026 signing Matyas Kopecky impress with a fourth-place finish. Team Novo Nordisk watched approvingly, according to a glowing press release<\/a>. The latest addition to the team, Niklas Larsen, who was presented on Sunday, also made his mark.Kopecky is the younger brother of Tomas Kopecky, the 25-year-old Czech who has been riding for Unibet Tietema Rockets since 2023 and will therefore be reunited with Matyas from 2026. The two are half Dutch, as they were born in Leiden, but now compete in cycling under their father’s Czech flag. The link with the team of founder Bas Tietema<\/a> is therefore not surprising, nor is the arrival of top sprinter Dylan Groenewegen<\/a> from 2026.<\/p>\n

Matyas Kopecky proved on the fifth and final day of the Tour of Denmark that he is a top talent, or as Novo Nordisk described him, a “Czech wonder kid”. The pro-continental rider kept pace with Lidl-Trek duo Mads Pedersen and Jakob S\u00f6derqvist and Visma | Lease a Bike leader Axel Zingle. In a four-man sprint, Kopecky finished fourth, but according to him, that was the best he could do.<\/p>\n

Continue reading below the video<\/p>\n

Kopecky had to dig deep to keep up with Pedersen and co.<\/p>\n

Because Kopecky was not feeling well at the start of stage 5, as he himself admitted. \u201cI had so much pain in my legs today, it was like my thighs were full of needles, and I felt terrible at the start, but Filippo inspired us, and I gradually started to feel better as the race went on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Kopecky stayed with the group and finished in a bold position in the final results. \u201cThe last laps were insanely fast and I was struggling on the climb up to the line, when Pedersen jumped I couldn\u2019t follow and I desperately threw my bike to try for third. Ah. Ok. On reflection it\u2019s a good result, year on year we\u2019re better here and I think we\u2019ve done a great job in front of our home fans and Novo Nordisk, but I wanted to win or at the very least top three.\u201d<\/p>\n

Continue reading below the photo<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Unibet Tietema Rockets signs Tour of Denmark sensation LarsenWhile Unibet Tietema Rockets was disappointed on Saturday when Lukas Kubis dropped from third to fourth place<\/a> in the final standings, 24 hours later there was cause for celebration with the signing of a new rider. He also showed his best side in the Tour of Denmark. The 28-year-old Larsen was presented on Sunday morning as the latest rider for Tietema and co. for 2026, one day after finishing third in his home race.<\/p>\n

Larsen has ridden for Uno-X Mobility in recent years, but will compete for the continental BHS-PL Beton Bornholm in 2025. There, he caught the eye of other teams, with a podium finish in Denmark, overall victory in the Tour du Loir et Cher, second place in the Tour of Estonia, and second place and a stage win in Kreiz Breizh. Larsen is also best known for his career on the track, with world titles in the Team Pursuit in 2023 and 2024.<\/p>\n