The newest problem 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 might have learn it but or not, I believed it apt to share extra from behind the scenes.
Our dialog came about the week after Kopecky received 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 observe, and a milestone first mountaintop victory on Jebel Hafeet, dropping a few of the strongest climbers within the peloton.
As her rainbow jersey testifies, Kopecky is the most effective bicycle owner on the earth. And it’s not usually, uncommon in truth, that you simply get half an hour to speak 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 likely to see that hour on a Saturday. So, eager to be punctual, I set three alarms earlier than 7am, and slept terribly. I awoke hourly all through the evening, 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, sporting AirPods and a coral pink-t-shirt.
I mentioned howdy, 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 season, Kopecky’s stardom ballooned when she received 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. In the course of the race, although, one thing else caught my eye: Kopecky launched her personal clothes line, known as ‘LoKo’.
The model identify, 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 generally a bit loco,” she advised me. It’s a facet to the world champion, recognized for her ruthlessness on the bike, that the majority biking followers received’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 day without work in Dubai to skydive, and becoming a member of a bunch of merry males on a beer bike in Gent.
We spoke in regards to the significance of getting enjoyable, her influence on the following technology, and the way dealing with fame has affected her life. “I used to have extra issues with it,” she mentioned. “Perhaps earlier than Covid, folks had some expectations. I used to be a very good rider, however not the highest rider, they usually needed me to win however I used to be not capable of 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, is not any completely different. Kopecky is our cowl star.
To learn the interview, you should purchase a duplicate of this week’s Biking Weekly in retailer for £3.25, or on-line for £4.50, together with supply. It’s a particular problem for Worldwide Ladies’s Day, and one we’re very happy with. Throughout the pages, you will additionally discover an exploration of the physiological variations between women and men, and the story of 1 inspiring lady’s journey from novice to extremely endurance rider.