For 2025, Lotte Kopecky had a gigantic goal: to win the Tour de France and would have done everything to achieve it. The Belgian superstar, currently world champion, had announced this without beating around the bush, showing herself firm and determined in front of numerous journalists' questions, explaining that it was time to attempt the assault. We were all curious, she was the first to believe in it, but the season would prove to be far from successful, "a totally disappointing year" as Lotte herself defined it, who raised the white flag in front of an endeavor perhaps too big for her.

If last year's media day served for the big announcement, this time Lotte doesn't seek excuses and clearly says that her 2025 was one of her worst years and no, the third victory at Flanders is not enough to recover it. Believing fully in such a big goal as the yellow jersey of the Tour was not enough, rather it highlighted the extreme risk of having to become a different athlete and not competitive enough. She tried until the end, just as she had promised, but her body also said enough and made her retrace her steps. "I am absolutely not satisfied with my season, many told me I should be happy because I won Flanders, but it's not enough. If I compare 2025 to 2024, the difference is enormous, I am not the same athlete. Everything went wrong from the beginning, during the winter I had a knee injury that delayed my preparation, in January I hadn't even started training again and so I started late, I was always behind in everything, I kept chasing a form that wasn't there. The worst period was between the Giro and the Tour, I wasn't well, the climbs were too hard for me, I had sacrificed my season for something I couldn't achieve, I was disappointed. I don't think I'll try again, I'm not made for these races, there are climbs too steep and my body is not suited." Lotte said with a misty gaze, no excuses, no second thoughts, the Tour was a beautiful challenge, but the general classification will no longer be part of her plans. She will return to dedicating herself to something else, she is not a pure climber and it is not in her nature.

It is never easy to talk about mistakes and disappointments with an athlete, especially when dealing with a two-time world champion who has always shown herself to be strong and determined. However, Lotte does not hide and it is precisely this awareness that helped her overcome a year that for many would have been fatal. She does not want to cancel the disappointment, but rather wants to restart from it to return to being herself. "I believe that after going through such a disappointing season, the only thing to do is accept it as it is, restart from the good things that were there and set aside the mistakes. The Tour project failed, but I'm still happy to have tried because I better understood my limits, I just want to return to my races, to those spring classics that I love and that always bring me great satisfaction. I never felt in shape, something was always missing, but the team really helped me a lot. My teammates always encouraged me, made me laugh and relax even when things weren't going well; thanks to them I never lost the desire to ride a bike and I believe this was the most important thing. If I had completely given up, I would have put everything aside and would not be here saying that I can't wait to start racing again." Lotte continues, explaining how in some way the difficulties of 2025 mentally strengthened her, making her more aware of herself. Now she is hungrier than ever for victory, wants to recover lost time, but above all wants to prove to the world that she is still an incredibly strong athlete.

Lotte's 2026 will open with the track Europeans in Turkey to have fun and return to winning. It was precisely in the velodromes that the Belgian athlete began to emerge from last year's tunnel, with the victory at the Six Days of Ghent she understood that she could start rebuilding her form and believing in her dreams again. On the road, she will then race the Omloop Nieuwsblad, setting her seasonal goal in the great spring classics, just as it happened until 2024. If last year Lotte had made a big proclamation, this time she does exactly the opposite, she does not want to focus on a race but rather savor the taste of victory. "I had set my mind on winning the Tour, but I'm not the suitable athlete, my races are the great spring classics which are also my favorites, so why change?" she repeats to us several times with the desire to start racing again. She seems like a new athlete, but she is the same as always, in love with the northern races and with the goal of being the best. Someone might criticize her for choosing the impossible challenge of winning the Tour, but sometimes one must reach the antithesis of oneself to understand who they truly are. Lotte Kopecky did not succeed in her mission, but she had the merit of trying, of falling and having the strength to get back up with new dreams, new goals and certainly stronger than before. The first three months of racing will be decisive, but let's not forget that at the end of the year there will be the World Championship...