Flanders ends elite sports contract with cyclist Lotte Kopecky
Flanders will provide direct financial support to 70 athletes In 2025, but no longer to star cyclist Lotte Kopecky. The cyclist, who rides for a Dutch team, lost her elite sports contract this year.
An elite sports contract guarantees a fixed monthly salary and is supposed to allow Flemish athletes to concentrate on their sport. Eleven athletes who did not receive this financial support last year will receive it in 2025. On the other hand, 26 contracts have been terminated.
The latter group includes, remarkably, Lotte Kopecky, who has been a top performer in women's cycling. Sport Vlaanderen responded that it wants to use its resources "as efficiently as possible".
Pioneer in women's cycling
The organisation chooses to support athletes working in a "professional context" only if they can prove that they need a contract to cover their costs. The latter, Sport Vlaanderen said, does not apply to Kopecky, who rides for leading Dutch team SD Worx-Protime.
"We sat down with Lotte and of course she doesn't like it. But she understands why we have made this decision"
"We sat down with Lotte and of course she doesn't like it. But she understands why we have made this decision," said Tom Coeckelberghs, director of elite sport at Sport Vlaanderen, at a press conference on Thursday.
"Lotte has had a fantastic development from the top sports school to the highest level. We are very proud of her and also grateful for the role she has played as a pioneer in women's cycling," he said.
3 million euros in contracts
Sport Vlaanderen has a budget of 31 million euros this year. Most of this will be used to support 31 elite sports federations, but some athletes will also receive individual support in the form of an elite sports contract.
Jochem Vermeulen and Kobe Vleminckx are among the newcomers to the list of athletes with such contracts. Established athletes such as marathon runner Bashir Abdi and gymnast Nina Derwael have been on the list for some time.
The total value of the contracts is around three million euros. Some athletes have full-time contracts, others half-time.
Among the athletes who have lost their contracts are those who have ended their careers, such as relay runner Kevin Borlée, or who are pursuing a sport that has lost its Olympic status. Others, such as javelin thrower Timothy Herman, did not achieve their sporting goals.
Lotte Kopecky poses with her bronze medal in the women's road race at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games © BELGA PHOTO DIRK WAEM
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