Double defending world champion, the Belgian Lotte Kopecky gives up defending her crown in Rwanda

Belgium coach has announced that the 29 -year -old cyclist will not align with Kigali because she “needs to recharge his batteries”.

The consecutive triple will not take place. The Belgian cyclist Lotte Kopecky, world champion in 2023 and 2024, will not defend her title on the online event of the world cycling championships at the end of September in Rwanda. The decision was announced by Belgium coach Ludwig Willems on Tuesday September 2.

The 29 -year -old runner “needs to recharge your batteries”, justified the coach at a press conference. “She has doubted a lot since the Giro. At the Tour de France, doubts have further increased.” Despite a victory on the Tour of Flanders in the spring, the Belgian had a difficult 2025 season: she notably abandoned during the Giro, then experienced a disappointing Tour of France with a 45th place as a general, very far from the hoped for podium.

“The pleasure factor is very important to me and it is a little absent at the moment”, had she entrusted during the big loop. “I made two very beautiful seasons, and this one with the rainbow jersey is quite mentally difficult.” To succeed him, the Frenchwoman Pauline Ferrand-Prévôt, victorious of the Tour de France in early August, and the Dutch Demi Vollering appear as the main favorites in the race for the rainbow jersey.