Kopecky and Bossuyt take gold: “Joy after immense confusion”

The Belgian couple collected 32 points, one point more than the French duo Clara Copponi-Valentine Fortin. In the confusion after the fierce battle, the French thought they had won the gold medal, but they didn’t realize that the Danes had won the last sprint

“We hadn’t collected any points until very far into the game, so we had to do it by winning a round,” Kopecky reacted. “I think we picked exactly the right moment to hunt for that round and the points that came with it. We had to go really deep to bring our attempt to a good end. But we succeeded.”

Shari Bossuyt rode a world championship for the first time alongside Lotte Kopecky and immediately took gold. “The final went in a real witch’s cauldron,” said the West Flemish. “After the finish we looked at the screens in the hall and there we suddenly saw that the French were number one and not us. For a moment I thought that this was the real final score, until our national coach Kenny De Ketele came to inform us that we did. were indeed the world champions. The feeling that followed is hard to describe.”

For Lotte Kopecky it is the second gold World Cup medal in the team race. In 2017, alongside Jolien D’hoore, she also won the title and the corresponding rainbow jersey. Earlier this week, Kopecky was also the best of the pack in the elimination in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. On Sunday, on the final day, Kopecky will defend her world title in the points race.