The newest concern of Biking Weekly journal, out at this time, is led by an eight-page interview with world champion Lotte Kopecky.
I had the pleasure of conducting and writing it. A few of you could have already obtained your copy, however whether or not you may have learn it but or not, I believed it apt to share extra from behind the scenes.
Our dialog occurred the week after Kopecky gained the UAE Tour, and – regardless of having spent the previous few years quizzing everybody from professional riders to firm executives – I’ve by no means been so nervous for an interview in my life. Previously eight months alone, I’ve watched the Belgian declare three world titles, two European titles in a 19-minute window on the monitor, and a milestone first mountaintop victory on Jebel Hafeet, dropping among the strongest climbers within the peloton.
As her rainbow jersey testifies, Kopecky is the very best bicycle owner on the earth. And it isn’t typically, uncommon in truth, that you just get half an hour to talk completely with the world champion. My nerves, I felt, have been justified.
All my correspondence within the lead-up to the interview was with Gretel, the press officer at SD Worx-Protime. After two weeks of forwards and backwards, she despatched me an electronic mail one night to say that Kopecky had made time for a name with me on Saturday morning, at 8am.
I don’t are inclined to see that hour on a Saturday. So, eager to be punctual, I set three alarms earlier than 7am, and slept terribly. I awakened hourly all through the night time, like an anxious traveller nervous about lacking an early flight. I used to be then at my desk earlier than the solar was within the sky.
Two minutes earlier than 8am, I obtained an electronic mail. “Lotte Kopecky has joined your Zoom assembly,” it mentioned. The nerves rose sharply to a crescendo. I booted up the decision, and there she was, dialling in from a coaching camp in Spain, carrying AirPods and a coral pink-t-shirt.
I mentioned hi there, however my greeting was met with silence. Her eyes darted across the display screen, she fiddled with the buttons, then turned to the textual content field to kind. “Are you able to hear me?” the world champion wrote. I shook my head. She smiled and, sussing out the issue, took out her AirPods. The audio related. “Okay good,” she mentioned. My nerves disappeared.
(Picture credit score: Future)
Final summer time, Kopecky’s stardom ballooned when she gained the opening stage of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, and held the yellow jersey for six days. She went on to complete second general, behind her team-mate Demi Vollering. Through the race, although, one thing else caught my eye: Kopecky launched her personal clothes line, known as ‘LoKo’.
The model title, it turned out, was a intelligent little bit of world play – a mash-up of her first and final names, and a nod to the Spanish phrase for loopy. I requested her about it. “Individuals who know me know I’m typically a bit loco,” she advised me. It’s a facet to the world champion, recognized for her ruthlessness on the bike, that almost all biking followers gained’t have seen.
The characteristic I wrote is titled ‘Going Loko’, and explores Kopecky’s free-spirited nature. Sure, she’s a serial winner of motorbike races, however she’s additionally a thrill-seeker, utilizing her time off in Dubai to skydive, and becoming a member of a bunch of merry males on a beer bike in Gent.
We spoke concerning the significance of getting enjoyable, her affect on the subsequent era, and the way dealing with fame has affected her life. “I used to have extra issues with it,” she mentioned. “Possibly earlier than Covid, individuals had some expectations. I used to be an excellent rider, however not the highest rider, they usually wished me to win however I used to be not in a position to but.”
Now, the 28-year-old wins at will, her exploits vaunted throughout the media. “Each week, you’re within the newspaper, or your head is on the TV,” she mentioned. This week, isn’t any totally different. Kopecky is our cowl star.
To learn the interview, you should purchase a replica of this week’s Biking Weekly in retailer for £3.25, or on-line for £4.50, together with supply. It’s a particular concern for Worldwide Ladies’s Day, and one we’re very pleased with. Throughout the pages, you will additionally discover an exploration of the physiological variations between women and men, and the story of 1 inspiring girl’s journey from novice to extremely endurance rider.
