Lotte Kopecky to skip Tour de France Femmes, focus on Olympic Games - 'Almost impossible to do properly'

ByPete Sharland

Updated 25/04/2024 at 08:06 GMT

SD Worx have now confirmed that Belgian superstar Lotte Kopecky will not be participating at the Tour de France Femmes this year. Instead, the world champion will turn her attention fully to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games where she will hope to win gold for her country. Before that, the 28-year-old will race at the Ford RideLondon Classique and the Giro d'Italia.

World champion Lotte Kopecky will not be racing at the 2024 Tour de France Femmes, her team SD Worx has confirmed.

Instead, the Belgian superstar will put all her focus towards the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Ever since the schedule for 2024 was announced, it always seemed that the top cyclists were going to have to make a choice, with the Olympics finishing just a day before the Grand Depart of the Tour.

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And speaking to Belgian outlet Sporza, SD Worx team manager Danny Stam said that the Tour just isn't going to be possible for Kopecky.

"The omnium ends on Sunday afternoon, the Tour starts on Monday morning. It is almost impossible to do that properly," explained Stam.

"Combining those two events would also be a very difficult task mentally."

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It has been a stellar season for Kopecky so far, having won Paris-Roubaix, Strade Bianche and Nokere Koerse, as well as the GC at the UAE Tour.

Last year, she finished second at the Tour de France Femmes in dramatic fashion, leading the race until the penultimate stage when team-mate Demi Vollering passed her in the GC on the Col du Tourmalet.

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Missing the Tour this year means that Kopecky will have to wait until 2025 to take a crack at the race, when she will likely race Vollering, who looks set to leave SD Worx at the end of 2024.

Between now and the Olympics, Kopecky is scheduled to race at the Ford RideLondon Classique and the Giro d'Italia.

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Discovery+ is the streaming home of the Olympic Games, and the only place you can watch every moment of Paris 2024 this summer

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