World champion Lotte Kopecky has taken to social media to defend her early-season results after a tough winter, and to urge fans not to write her off.
"I had the feeling I wasn't good enough any more," she wrote on Instagram, after finishing the first part of the year with 'only' a win at the Tour of Flanders.
"I wasn’t looking for excuses and being straightforward is what I stand for," she wrote. "So when I said ‘I should be happy with this spring after the winter I had’ in the interview after [Liège-Bastogne-Liège] I should’ve thought twice before staying it."
The Belgian was referring to a winter campaign compromised by a knee injury that she picked up in a crash at the Simac Ladies Tour in October.
"But I was really done with the opinions, high expectations and really had the feeling I am just not good enough anymore," she added. "We need media. But sometimes it is hard to hear everything people are saying about you without having any clue what’s happening in our lives."
Most riders would consider the results accrued by the SD Worx-Protime rider over the past few months a resounding success. As well as winning Flanders, she was second at Dwars Door Vlaanderen, fifth at Liège and ninth at Milan-San Remo.
The 29-year-old, however, has set her standard even higher. Last year she had taken several high profile results by this stage, including wins at Paris-Roubaix and Strade Bianche.
Of the knee issue, Kopecky added: "I’ve been struggling with my knee this winter, being on and off the bike the whole time."
There had been media rumours that Kopecky's ailment was picked up through running, but SD Worx has already released a statement to confirm that is not the case, saying it was caused by the "aftermath of the fall in the Simac Ladies Tour".
Kopecky had not managed to complete any interval training during the off-season, she said, and was forced instead to race herself fit.
"[I was] trying to trust the process, relying on my base I built over the past years," she wrote. "But never reached my full potential. Just like many of you, I wanted more victories myself and honour this amazing jersey."
Kopecky remains positive and signed off with a hint that she may target something major at the Tour de France Femmes this summer, where she is expected to aim for the GC.
"Sometimes things happen for a reason," she said. "I’ll keep up the hard work, aiming & dreaming of big things this summer!"
