World champion Lotte Kopecky wants the Tour de France Femmes to be over as soon as possible. The Belgian was unable to compete for the victory for the second day in a row, while she previously dominated the women’s peloton.
“The fun factor is very important to me and it is currently a bit absent,” Kopecky said to Belgian media after the second stage. “The past two, three years I have had very beautiful seasons. To then ride around like this season in this jersey is mentally difficult.”
“I would prefer it to be next Sunday as soon as possible,” Kopecky continued, referring to the last Tour day. “Hopefully we can still make something beautiful of this Tour with the team. But I will have to put my personal ambition aside.”
The 29-year-old Kopecky finished a minute behind stage winner Marianne Vos on Saturday, while the stage should have been perfect for her. She was so disappointed by her performance that she did not speak to the press afterwards.
On Sunday she broke the silence, after she had unsuccessfully done lead work for Lorena Wiebes in the final. She said she hadn’t slept much last night. “The feeling is not great and that is quite frustrating.”
Kopecky had no explanation for her disappointing performances. “I am not someone who is going to look for excuses. It’s just not working. I have had a very long preparation and have been away from home for a very long time. I wanted to start well here, but it went completely wrong.”