Lotte Kopecky wins 96th Belgian National Sports Merit Award
Cyclist Lotte Kopecky is the winner of the 96th Belgian National Sports Merit Award. This was announced at Brussels town hall on Thursday afternoon. Kopecky succeeds speed skater and inline skater Bart Swings.
The National Sports Merit Award has been awarded since 1928 to a Belgian athlete or sports team that performed particularly well in the past year. A jury of (former) sports champions chooses the laureate, who can win the award only once in their career.
2024 was Kopecky's most successful season yet. The 28-year-old rider triumphed in one-day classics such as Strade Bianche and Paris-Roubaix, won the overall classification in the UAE Tour, the Tour of Britain, the Tour de Romandie and the Simac Ladies Tour.
On the international level, she also dominated the sport. In August, Kopecky won bronze in the Olympic road race in Paris. In September, she crowned herself European time trial champion and won the women's Road World Championships in Zurich.
Not just road cycling
The Belgian rider also is a force to be reckoned with in track cycling. There, Kopecky became double European champion, in the elimination and points race. She also participated in the Gravel World Championship earlier this month, finishing second.
"She is a fantastic and versatile athlete and a deserved winner," said Jean-Michel Saive, the president of the Belgian Olympic and Interfederal Committee (BOIC). "She is more than just an athlete," added jury member and former basketball player Ann Wauters. "She inspires young people and grows cycling in her own way."
"She is a fantastic and versatile athlete and a deserved winner"
Kopecky still has a chance to make her year even more exceptional. She is currently at the track cycling World Championships in Ballerup, Denmark, where she will participate in the elimination race on Thursday and the points race on Sunday.
#FlandersNewsService | © BELGA PHOTO JASPER JACOBS
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