A new couple has emerged in cycling: former world champion Lotte Kopecky (30 years old) and Axel Merckx (53), the son of the Cannibal. In a recent interview with Sporza, Kopecky had revealed that she had fallen in love again and was experiencing one of the best moments of her life. "I'm truly happy - she had said - I no longer go home alone". The Flemish cyclist had not revealed who her new flame was: the news about the new couple appeared this morning in Dag Allemaal and was picked up by most Belgian newspapers.

Axel is the son of Eddy Merckx and team manager of Hagens Berman Jayco, the well-known youth development team of Jayco AlUla. The two had been seen together frequently last year, such as at the Six Days of Ghent, but there were no reports confirming or denying a relationship between them.

More information then came through Strava, the app on which Axel Merckx began regularly posting photos of training and walks with Lotte Kopecky and her inseparable dog Ollie.

Axel Merckx is very active on social media and has a large number of fans following him, so the reports of him cycling from his home to Assenede, the city where Lotte lives, did not go unnoticed.

The champion herself had told Sporza that they would not officially announce their relationship for some time: "Do I want to keep the relationship private? Absolutely not, because it's only a matter of time and we'll do it before you media start complaining. We just said we don't intend to share an Instagram post about our relationship, but we meet everywhere, we're seen together, and it's easy to understand".

In the interview, the Flemish cyclist appears almost amused when answering questions about her relationship, emphasizing that she was the one who said she has a new love and is happy.

"We have no problem if people meet and recognize us. Will this relationship benefit my performance? Good question. Being in love is very nice, but it's stability, above all, that improves performance. Now there's someone I can count on and share even difficult moments with. This is more important than being in love. I have butterflies in my stomach, even though I haven't raced much with this feeling yet".

In 2023, news of a relationship between Axel Merckx and former time trial world champion Chloé Dygert (28) was published, but little was known about the end of their story. Merckx also has two daughters from his marriage to former Canadian triathlete Jodi Cross: Axana (23) and Athina (19). As for Kopecky, the only known relationship was with former coach Kieran De Fauw (41).