Team SD Worx-Protime pleased with the arrival of talented Julia Kopecký

Team SD Worx-Protime pleased with the arrival of talented Julia Kopecký

‘Perfect team to take the next step in my career"

20/09/2024

Team SD Worx - Protime has committed 20-year-old Julia Kopecký for the next two years. The Czech is considered one of the bigger talents in the peloton. Within Team SD Worx-Protime, they are convinced Julia Kopecký can make big strides in the coming years. 

Julia Kopecký is not related to world champion Lotte Kopecky. She does come from a real cycling family as her brothers Tomas and Matyas currently compete for the pro teams of TDT-Unibet and Novo Nordisk respectively.

The new addition to Team SD Worx-Protime was born in the Netherlands and has lived in Leiden all her life. She previously competed for AG Insurance - Soudal. In the colours of the Belgian formation, she managed to win the Tour de Feminin. She also finished second in the Volta NXT Classic this spring behind Femke Markus. Furthermore, she participated in the Paris Olympics.

At Team SD Worx-Protime, she really came onto the radar after her second place in the time trial Omloop van Borsele, where she only saw triple world champion Ellen van Dijk finish ahead of her.

‘‘If you can get such a good result in such a long time trial at that young age, you have quite a lot of potential,’ sports manager Danny Stam indicated. ‘After this result, we started following her intensively. I see Julia growing into a very strong rider in the future. With her good time trial skills, she can start riding very strong races as a hard rider. We also noticed that she is often well positioned at the crucial moments in a race. We will have to be patient with her, but we will give her that time. We believe Julia can develop into one of the better riders in the peloton.’

‘Why I signed with Team SD Worx-Protime? It is the number one team in the world. After my conversation with sports manager Danny Stam, I knew I would fit in,’ Julia Kopecký comments. ‘I can find the professionalism I need to take the next step in my career with this team. When you see the steps some riders have made with this team, I am convinced I can do the same. I am very confident about my move to Team SD Worx-Protime.’

‘In my home country Czech Republic, there is still too little media attention for women's cycling. It is a small mission of mine personally to hopefully change that with my performances in the future. I hope to become a complete rider here. In recent years, I have made strides, but when you see how fast the absolute top goes, I realise that I still have a long way to go. However, I fully believe that I can grow to that level within this team. That I can learn a lot from the experienced riders. One working point is that I have to learn to listen to my body better. An athlete is used to keep pushing, but if you are a bit sickly and you keep going, you make it worse.’

‘I see myself as a classic rider,’ Kopecký continued. ‘I have also improved in the time trial. I want to develop further in all areas. One of my strongest points is the mental aspect anyway. I study psychology at Leiden University. I am now starting the third year and would like to specialise in sports psychology later on. The past two years I competed in the U23 cross season, but the combination with my studies is tough in winter. So I don't know yet if I will do it again this winter. The absolute highlight of my career was my very first UCI victory in Leiedal Koerse. That was unexpected and beautiful. I also remember my Olympic debut as the youngest participant in the women's race. I hope to pick up victories at Team SD Worx-Protime too in due course.’

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