Lotte Kopecky (SD Works) is only 27 years old, but she has been a member of the elite peloton since her first year out of junior and has risen with the women's pro cycling world, which has improved dramatically over the past decade. Ahead of the spring classic opener, Omloop Het Niusbrod, Kopecky expressed her support for the minimum salary for women imposed by the UCI.

"Otherwise, women's cycling will never grow," she said.

Kopecky defended the salary rule because Patrick Leferet, owner of the AG Insurance Soudal-Quick Step elite and development teams and the men's world team, said last week that the minimum salary of €60,000 "is not enough to justify the women's cycling It is only because he criticized the minimum salary, saying that it is "not wide enough.

[The current minimum for women's WorldTeams is €26,849 for employed neo-pro riders, €32,102 for experienced riders, and more for self-employed riders who do not get the same benefits. Only experienced riders who are self-employed have a minimum salary of more than €60,000, but that is not until 2025. - ed.]

But Lefebvre's own rider, Belgian Justine Géquière, had his words heard last weekend when he escaped on the final day to take the overall win at Setmana Valenciana. When asked about the result, Kopecký joked, "I think I got a good middle finger."

Kopecky said he felt that the development of women's cycling was moving at an appropriate pace and not too rapidly.

"I think it's going at just the right speed," she said. Every year there are little tweaks being made."

Kopecky said, "It's a little bit of an adjustment. The evolution we've seen in the last few years is very impressive, and we're also witnessing some very nice races and a lot of spectacle."

One of those spectacles was Kopecký winning the Tour de Flanders while wearing the Belgian champion jersey in front of a large crowd and television audience. This year, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad joins the Pro Series in 2021 and 2022 and the Women's World Tour after becoming a 1.1-ranked race starting in 2016. Viewers will also be able to enjoy their races as this race will be finished after the men's. This shift, as decided by organizer Flanders Classic, has significantly improved viewership of the women's race.

The course change gave the women a chance to compete in the finale of the former Tour de Flanders, which included the climbs of Mühl van Geraasbergen and Bosberg.

"It's a very nice race, worthy of the World Tour. It's good, but World Tour or not, it's still a very good race."

This year, she says, the prize money for the top finishers is even, another "very nice gesture" by the Flanders Classic.

"It's not the most important thing, but I think we have to work just as hard as the men, even though we run shorter distances. I think it is very nice that the prize money is the same."

SD Walkes will be the top team in the 2022 UCI ranking and WorldTour, and Kopecký has the most points thanks to wins at the Tour of Flanders and Strade Bianche and podiums at Worlds, Paris-Roubaix, and Ronde van Drenthe. Teammate Demi Volering was on the podium in all three Ardennes Classics and second overall in the Tour de France Fam.

This year, the team features sprinter Lorena Wiebes, who took a stage win at the UAE Tour this month. For the rest of the riders, Omloop Het Newsblad will be their first race of the season. Kopecky knows his team is ready to go after a recent team camp.

"I saw everyone at the last camp. We did a lot of race simulations in training camp. So I don't think there will be any problems. "

Kopecky has already raced, but on the circuit where he won the elimination race. 'I think I'm in really good shape right now. We have a super strong team at the start. We have a lot of options for tomorrow. I have a good feeling in my legs and hopefully I can win the race with my team."

Since 2019, Omloop het Nieuwsblad has been won either by a solo attack or last year by the always dominant reigning world champion Annemiek van Fruten (Movistar), who outsprinted Vollering from a two-man breakaway.

Last year, Kopecký failed to move in Mühl van Geraalsbergen and had to bridge to van Vleuten and Vollering. She says she learned a valuable lesson from this moment last year.

The strong headwind expected tomorrow could turn the tide in the finale. She said, "I don't like the idea of small groups breaking away from each other. I hope it will be a hard race and I expect some very tough decisions on the climbs," she said.

Kopecky has the team's No. 1 dossier, but if the race comes down to a sprint, the logical choice is to lead Lorena Vives, she said.

"Lorena is one of the fastest riders in the group. She is faster than me. Of course, we'll have to see how she's doing, but nine times out of ten, I think I'll try to lead her out."

"I'm not sure if she's going to be able to do it, but I think she'll be able to do it.

There is still a good chance that Van Vleuten could go on a solo rampage. Although she didn't stand out in Valencia last week, Kopecky doesn't underestimate her.

"She just came from high altitude from Colombia. We shouldn't underestimate that; now, a week later, she has competition. So I think she is much better than she was last week. I don't know about Anne-Mike. I think tomorrow we will see another very strong Annemike."

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