Lotte Kopecky: 'A pressure has fallen off' for Paris-Roubaix after Tour of Flanders win

On Saturday, World Champion Lotte Kopecky aims to become the first woman to compete in the Flanders-Roubaix double, having secured her third Tour of Flanders title in four years last weekend.

The Belgian leads SD Worx-Protime's selection for the fifth edition of the Hell of the North with one Monument already in the bag.

Speaking ahead of the race, Kopecky said that she feels less pressure for Paris-Roubaix Femmes, though she isn't any less motivated to add the race to her palmarès.

"Whether I can look forward to Paris-Roubaix more relaxed after my victory in the Tour of Flanders? In a way, yes," Kopecky said.

"A pressure has fallen off my shoulders. It's not that I'm less keen on victory in Paris-Roubaix because of that, but it makes a difference that I already have a Monument win."

Kopecky's Flanders win came on her fourth race day of the season, with her first at Milan-San Remo seeing her chase down Elisa Longo Borghini in the final to set up a Monument win for teammate Lorena Wiebes.

More teamwork to help Wiebes win at Gent-Wevelgem followed, while Kopecky's third outing came at Dwars door Vlaanderen, where she took second behind Longo Borghini.

"I'm also satisfied with how the spring is going at the moment," she said. "I took a long period without competition. I also felt that during the first races. I needed some time to find the right feeling. But I feel the form is on the rise.

"I'm happy with that because that's what I wanted to achieve. I didn't want to end up on a plateau like in previous years. I hope I can continue this level of form towards Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

"But first, Paris-Roubaix. It would be fantastic to win Paris-Roubaix with the team after Milan-San Remo and the Tour of Flanders.

Kopecky heads to Paris-Roubaix as the reigning champion, having won last year's race in a six-woman sprint in the Vélodrome André-Pétrieux. She beat Elisa Balsamo and Pfeiffer Georgi to the line at the end of the 148.5km race.

Kopecky said that she's "not really concerned with records" but admitted that she's definitely aiming to finish off the second part of the Flanders-Roubaix double.

"I don't care if I would be the first to succeed. I just want to win," she said. "We are at the start with a strong team. In Paris-Roubaix, everything has to be right to win. And then you especially can't have bad luck.

"The fact that we can play several cards is all the more important in a race like Paris-Roubaix. It's a nice thing to be able to go into the race like that."

She said that last year's win in the rainbow jersey as world champion was "extra special", especially given that SD Worx hadn't won any of the first three editions of the race, with Kopecky finishing second herself in 2022.

This year, the 29-year-old leads an SD Worx squad, which includes Wiebes, Blanka Vas, Marta Lach, Elena Cecchini, and Barbara Guarischi as they take on 17 cobbled sectors between Denain and Roubaix – including Mons-en-Pévèle and Carrefour de l'Arbre.

"The cobbles are still as bad as last year," Kopecky joked, referring to her pre-race recon ride. "After four editions, the course is already in my head, but it is still nice to refresh everything a few days before the race. Especially as we could do this in the same weather conditions as they forecast on Saturday.

"Furthermore, I saw that Blanka Vas was really enjoying riding over the cobbles. That was nice to see. Marta Lach also rode super over the cobbles.

"With Lorena Wiebes as a co-leader also, Elena Cecchini as an ideal lieutenant, and Barbara Guarischi with all her racing experience, we have a strong team at the start."

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