Lotte Kopecky won for the sixth time in a row the Vélo de Cristal, a traditional referendum organized by the Flemish newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws, rewarding the best Belgian players in the cycling season since 1992.
The 30-year-old from Antwerp obtained 926 points from a jury made up of former winners, former runners, sports directors, members of federations and journalists.
Justine Ghekiere obtained first place with 812 units. Shari Bossuyt is 3e with 424 points. Lotte Claes (418) and Marion Riberolle Norbert (260), cyclocross specialist, complete the top 5.
Outgoing world champion, Lotte Kopecky, however, had an up and down year after the Paris Olympic Games last summer. In spring with victories in the Tour of Flanders and places of honor in À Travers la Flanders (2e), Liège-Bastogne-Liège (5e), Milan-San Remo (9e), Paris-Roubaix (12e) and La Flèche Wallonne (12e), Lotte Kopecky also won for the 7e time in a row the time trial event of the Belgian championships.
His second part of the season was marked by injuries which disrupted his preparation for the Giro Donne and the Tour de France, abandoning his ambitions for a general classification very early. Lotte Kopecky skipped the Worlds in Kigali, returning to competition with a stage victory at the Tour de l’Ardèche before falling heavily, breaking a vertebra. She withdrew from the Track Worlds in Chile last month.
