Kopecky (28) still had a contract until the end of 2024. The world champion indicated that she would prefer to stay with Team SD Worx-Protime for the next few years. The team is convinced that Kopecky can still make strides in the short and long-term. Currently, she is 2nd in the UCI ranking. This season she already managed to win the queen stage and the overall classification of the UAE Tour.
Lotte Kopecky
"I am very happy to stay with Team SD Worx-Protime until 2028. I feel good with this team, and most importantly, I can be myself in this environment. Team SD Worx-Protime is the best team in the women's peloton in terms of results. The interaction in this team is very human. We are certainly not seen as robots. Of course we are expected to perform, but not at any cost.
There is clear communication within the team, so we immediately know where we stand. Both when it's positive sounds and critical notes, you get to hear it. I can appreciate that."
"At Team SD Worx-Protime, I have already experienced a lot of great moments with both my teammates and the staff over the past two years. When I look at the record I have built up here and how I have grown as a rider and person, it is a logical choice that I have now opened up my contract and extended it through 2028."
Erwin Janssen, team manager Team SD Worx-Protime
"We are very happy that we have been able to break open the contract with Lotte Kopecky and have secured her through 2028. Especially in Belgium, Lotte Kopecky really put women's cycling on the map. She joined our team in 2022 as a major talent. She was able to fulfill that promise in the colours of Team SD Worx - Protime and has since become a super champion. One of the big stars of women's cycling. In the past two years Lotte has won brilliant victories for our team with the Ronde van Vlaanderen two times, Strade Bianche, points classification and stage win in the Tour de France Femmes, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Nokere Koerse, four world titles on the track and of course her brilliant world title on the road in Glasgow. We look forward to continuing to work with her in the coming years and keeping her at the top. Especially with our Belgian main sponsors SD Worx and Protime, it is wonderful for us to have the Belgian world star of women's cycling on our team."
Danny Stam, sports manager Team SD Worx - Protime
"Lotte is one of the strongest riders in the peloton. Over the past two years in our team she has made huge strides and built a nice record. She is an easy person to work with and has become one of the leaders of the team that everyone pulls up to. She understands the team's interests well and is a person everyone gets along well with. I am confident that she can grow even further and am pleased that we are keeping her with the team through 2028."
Kobe Verdonck, CEO SD Worx
"With the contract extension of Lotte Kopecky, Team SD Worx-Protime also assures itself of an absolute world-class rider within the team in the coming years. Lotte has already made SD Worx famous thanks to her exceptional cycling performances. As a top Belgian cyclist, she is achieving international success, which is exactly what we as an HR and payroll company aspire to. Moreover, the world champion always insists that she excels thanks to the team behind her. That is an important parallel to the business world: you can only perform exceptionally thanks to good teamwork. Finally, Lotte makes a lot of young talent enthusiastic about the sport. It has been our conscious choice from the beginning to support women's cycling in its further development and to commit ourselves in the longer term."