A rider who can contest sprints, claim the points jersey and is also in contention for the GC win at a Grand Tour sounds like an anomaly, but that is what Lotte Kopecky is. The world champion went into the queen stage of this Giro with three seconds between herself and race leader Elisa Longo Borghini at a race that she says she is using as preparation for the Olympic Games in Paris. There, she will compete on the track and contest the punchy, one-day Classic-style course, both a world away from a summit finish in a Grand Tour.
Kopecky has already demonstrated her ability to climb – most notably on the Tourmalet stage of the 2023 Tour de France Femmes, where (whilst also leading the points classification) she rode to sixth place. Still, mitigating time losses and staying in contention in the company of climbers are entirely different circumstances. “I’ll see how far I get. I have nothing to lose,” Kopecky told the media before today’s Blockhaus summit finish – the perfect position to be in going into such a hard day of racing.
By the end of the day, Kopecky had stretched her own limits even further by not only staying with but beating Longo Borghini in the sprint for second and taking a crucial six bonus seconds that now put her just one second behind the Italian.
On the lower slopes of the Blockhaus climb, the group was already significantly reduced. Lidl-Trek set the pace with Brodie Chapman and Gaia Realini working for Longo Borghini. Their sole motive was to shake the world champion for the Italian rider to extend her three-second lead on GC.
As other riders began to attack with the stage win in mind, Longo Borghini at first started to close down gaps. However, when a move from Neve Bradbury of Canyon//SRAM eventually went, the Lidl-Trek rider left it to Pauliena Rooijakkers of Fenix Deceuninck to chase, choosing instead to keep her eye on Kopecky, who was still hanging on. The 28-year-old had begun to look tired and was dousing herself in water at every opportunity, but as the climb wore on and other riders with greater climbing pedigree dropped away from the group, Kopecky sat glued to Longo Borghini’s wheel, her face set in a mask of sheer determination.
As Bradbury crossed the finish line for the win, the chase group was whittled down to just Kopecky, Longo Borghini and Roiijakkers. Longo Borghini had done everything in her power to distance Kopecky, but the Belgian rider was going nowhere.
“I tried to drop her a couple of times, and she seemed to struggle, but she was always there,” lamented Longo Borghini after the stage. “I feel like we are pretty similar as riders, she is just a little bit too fast, and this is a bit annoying. But what can I say, it’s chapeau to Lotte.”
Not only could Kopecky not be dropped, but she still had the energy to deliver the speed to out-sprint Longo Borghini for second place. “It seems Lotte and I have always had to sprint for seconds,” joked Longo Borghini. “Lotte was outstanding, she launched the sprint really long, and I had to stay in her wheel. I tried to pass her, but it was not possible.”
Footage from the race’s social media account showed the pair starting the day by sharing a bag of Haribos in the neutral zone. After the stage, the only thing the two riders were sharing was fighting talk.
“It’s not over until it’s over,” said Longo Borghini. “I’m going to defend this jersey until like 30 metres after the finish line.”
"One-second difference is a bit sour,” said Kopecky. “I did everything I could to take the pink jersey, but Elisa was just really strong today. One stage remains, so it will be an exciting battle on Sunday. It has already been three tough stages, and the final stage also promises to be tough with a nice finale. Lidl-Trek will do everything to eliminate the bonification seconds. I rode a strong Giro so far, we'll see tomorrow if I manage to win the pink jersey."
If any riders had hoped that the final stage might be one for a breakaway, they will likely be disappointed. Lidl-Trek will be using every tool in their arsenal to try and distance Kopecky, while SD Worx will want to keep the race together in order for the Belgian rider to sprint for bonus seconds on the line. However it plays out, this race will come down to the wire.
