Kopecky praises Wiebes after victory in "number one goal" of the year: "She was the key to this victory"

On Saturday, Lotte Kopecky won Paris-Roubaix in the rainbow jersey. It's her first victory in the cobblestone classic. During the sprint from a group of six, the SD Worx-Protime rider was by far the strongest. After the race, the world champion expressed special gratitude towards her team.

"At the beginning, we did fantastic work as a team. I never had to waste energy and always started the sectors well at the front. In the end, Lorena Wiebes was key. She couldn't quite keep up, but it allowed me to wait for her," the winner initially told Sporza during a brief reaction.

During the flash interview, Kopecky addressed this more extensively. "This was the number one goal of the season. That really makes it beautiful to win. The team gave me so much confidence. My teammates were cheering me on a lot these past few days. I just felt how much they believed in me. Thanks to them, I was able to win today. They did a great job. The fact that Wiebes was in the second group was the key for me," she repeats her earlier words to Sporza.

Kopecky on thrilling sprint: "I just kept going"

Winning the sprint was anything but an easy task. She had to compete against the likes of Elisa Balsamo and Marianne Vos. She also found herself boxed in at one point. "You're nervous because you're up against strong sprinters, like Balsamo. So you're never sure. I also got boxed in for a moment, which meant I had to start sprinting early, but I just kept going," concludes Kopecky.