Lotte Kopecky to ride Giro d'Italia Women, Demi Vollering leader for Ardennes

Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift winner Lotte Kopecky was not at the start of Wednesday's Brabantse Pijl in Belgium, as she recovers from the weekend's victory, but the world champion has been confirmed to ride the Giro d'Italia Women in July.

It will be the Belgian's fourth start at the Italian Grand Tour and see her make a return to the race after two years. The news was announced by her SD Worx-Protime sporting manager Danny Stam, who was discussing the team's coming plans with Het Laatste Nieuws.

“Lotte will ride the Giro. An ideal race to score and improve stage wins yourself. Lotte will not go on an altitude training course before the start of the [Olympic] Games," he said. "We will stay on the lowlands and try to let her grow to her top level through stage races."

Read more: Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift: Lotte Kopecky sprints to a narrow victory in the velodrome

As Stam referred to, the Giro d'Italia Women will be an important part of Kopecky's Olympic preparations, where the Belgian is hoping to take medals both on the road and on the track in Paris. The final stage of the Giro, running from 7–14 July, takes place 13 days out from the Olympic time trial event.

Kopecky has raced the Giro on three occasions, finishing the race twice and picking up one stage victory along the way. That victory in 2020 was actually the Belgian's first at Women's WorldTour level and came just weeks before she signed for her first WorldTeam, Liv Racing.

© Getty Images

Kopecky made her name for Lotto Soudal Ladies before moving to the WorldTour and becoming one of the best in the business

Four years on and the world champion will be back looking to add to her stage win tally, but as for the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, where the 28-year-old finished runner-up last summer, Kopecky's participation remains undecided.

"A longlist for the Tour is not yet there, because certain riders have been injured and it is not yet clear whether they will get fit," Stam said. "After Liège, I will sit down with Lotte and talk about the Tour. The most important thing is what she wants.”

The Tour de France Femmes begins only a day after the omnium at the Olympic Games.

This year's Liège-Bastogne-Liège, meanwhile, will be the first of Kopecky's career, but the pressure will be off the Paris-Roubaix champion, with Demi Vollering the slated leader for SD Worx-Protime.

Demi Vollering to lead SD Worx-Protime in the Ardennes

In her top shape, Kopecky would be a major favourite for Liège-Bastogne-Liège alongside her teammate and defending champion, Vollering, but Stam is keen to point out that it has been a long spring for the Belgian.

"It is not the course that will be the deciding factor for Lotte in Liège. The mental and physical freshness after a long spring will be. She has worked towards the Tour of Flanders and Roubaix. It remains to be seen how much is left in her tank against ladies who will be relatively fresh at the start.”

Read more: Lotte Kopecky on Paris-Roubaix win: 'Today was exactly as we planned'

One of those fresher riders will be Vollering herself, who chose not to ride Paris-Roubaix and will take on the trio of Ardennes Classics: Amstel Gold Race, La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, all three of which she won last year.

"Demi is our leader in the Ardennes. We hope to get at least one win with her."

Vollering, who is set to leave the team at the end of the season, is yet to win in 2024 but found her best result yet at De Brabantse Pijl, where she placed second behind Lidl-Trek's Elisa Longo Borghini. Alongside the Italian, Vollering will begin the Ardennes Classics as an outstanding candidate to add to her 29 career victories.

Read more: SD Worx team manager wanted to keep Vollering and Kopecky for 2025

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