Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) powered to her first win of 2026 and her third career victory at Nokere Koerse Women, biding her time in the final uphill sprint before surging away in the final 150 metres to win with apparent ease.
Charlotte Kool (Fenix-Premier Tech) came fast from behind but couldn’t quite overcome Kopecky, settling for second, whilst Lara Gillespie (UAE Team ADQ) claimed yet another podium this spring in third.
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“The plan was to try something, or at least force a move. But when you have Charlotte Kool with you, you know it’s going to be difficult. At one point I was also lacking a bit of power.
“It’s quite a long sprint and there was a headwind, so I definitely didn’t want to hit the front too early. I got a good lead-out, although it faded just a little. Maybe it wasn’t the most economical sprint, but I timed it well.
How it unfolded
22 cobbled sectors, 10 climbs and 133km were on the menu as the peloton rolled out of Deinze for Nokere Koerse and headed towards the punchy finish on Waregemstraat.
It took only a few kilometres for the day’s early break to go, made up of Aidi Tuisk (Hitec Products-Fluid Control), Mieke Docx (Das-Hutchinson), Julie Stockman…
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