Glasgow Worlds: No Madison defence for Kopecky after partner Bossuyt's positive
Belgian champion to race eliminatšion, points race, omnium and road race, puts final touches on Worlds form aš¶t Tour de France Femmes

Lotte Kopecky will revise her rainbow-jersey ambitions on the track at the upcoming 168澳擲5ęę°å¼å„ē»ę:Glasgow World Championships, removing the Madison from her competition line-up for the foreseeablše future after her event partner Shari Bossuyt returned a positive test for the banned substance Letrozole in March.
Kopecky spoke with Cyclingnews at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift in Clermont-Ferrand before thš·e race began, revealing that she will focus on the Elimination Race, Points Race, and Omnium on the track and then the elite women's road race at thše first-ever combined World Championships held from August 3-13.
Kopecky and Bossuyt are the reigning world champions in Madison, having won their world titles at the 2022 Worlds in Saint Quentin en Yvelines, France. It was Kopecky's second world title in the event, having also also taken victory with partner Jolien D'hoore in Hong Kong in 2017, the first time the women's Madison was offered at the Worlds. Kopecky is also the reigning wź¦orld championÜ« in the Elimination Race.
"I will do three events on the track and the road race," Kopecky confirmed. Asked if she was disappꦯointed to remove the Madison event from her linš±e-up at Worlds, she said, "It's pretty hard, yes, but at this moment, I hope for Shari that she can prove that she is innocent; that is the most important thing."
Bossuyt, who is under contract with Canyon-SRAM on the road, and her manager have told the team that her 168澳擲5ęę°å¼å„ē»ę:A and B sampš les tested positive for Letrozole. She now awaits a final verdict from the French Agence française de lutte contre le dopage (AFLD), who carried out the test on March 19 during the Tour de Normandie Féminin. Canyon-SRAM extended herā contract on April 5 but has put her on 'provisionally non-active' status.
Kopecky said any future planšÆs for that event are onš ° hold given that she does not have a partner. She also said the Belgium national team will replace her and Bossuyt with a pair of up-and-coming riders for the Madison in Glasgow.
"For these Worlds, we are sending two young riders, Hélène Hesters and Katrijn De Clercq; we will see how they do it. For the Olympics, nothing is really for sure, you have to qualify, of course, but nothing is for sšure about what we will do; it will be clear in the next months."
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Kopecky competed at the Tokyo Olympic Games and finished fourth in the road raceā±. However, in the Madison and Omnium, bad luck and crāashes prevented her from achieving her goal of winning a gold medal. She will focus on the road and the Omnium at the upcoming Paris Olympics and with the Madison dependent on Bossuyt's case or if she has a new partner.
"At this moment, my ambitions are ošŗnly in the Omnium, but we will see in the next months how these young girls develop and how the case with Shari develops; it's not something I can answer at this moment," Kopecky said.
"At this moment, I haven't š°been training for the Madison. In the next months, if we go to the Olympics, of course, we will pick it up again."
In Glasgow, Kopecky will focus on the three track events and the road race with a team that includes Sanne Cant, Julie de Wilde, Justine Ghekiere, Marthe Goossens, Lone Meertens and Marthe Truyenš.
"I have ambitious goals on the track and the road at the Worlds," said Kopecky, who is currently competing at the Tour de France Femmes where she 168澳擲5ęę°å¼å„ē»ę:won the opening stage to takšÆe the fiź¦rst leader's jersey of the eight-day race that finishes in Pau on Sunday.
She noted that the racing at the Tour de France Femmes fits perfectly with her preparations š°for the World Championships.
"I also think, if you have this Tour de France, which is positioned within the next two weeks before Worlds, you will not do this super big training anymore. With the track being very short efforts, racing the Tour de France is very good planning for the road race on Sunday, August 13. I think it's very manageaāble all together."
Kopecky finished a close second pą± lace at the Wollongong Worlds after Annemiek van Vleuten (Netherlands) made a surprise last-kilometre attack and crossed the line solo to win the worą¼ld title just ahead of the sprint. She also finished 16th in the Flanders Worlds in 2022.
"It will be a completely different course in GlasgowšÆ. It's a course that really suits me, but it also suits a lot of other riders. I go there with the ambition of becoming the world champion, but I also know it will be a hard task," Kš¼opecky said.
"The chances that it doesn't work out are bigger than if it wilꦬl work out. We are going there with siź§x other riders, who will get 200% support, so I hope the race scenario is to our advantage and we can make an unforgettable day of it."
At the 168澳擲5ęę°å¼å„ē»ę:Tour de France Femmes, SD Worx supports Demi Vollering for the overall title and Lorena Wiebes in tą·“he sprints, while Kopecky has been given a wildcard role to win stages.
She confirmed she would not leave the Tour dš e France Femmes early, ahead of the GC-decisive penultimate stage 7 Tourmalet. "I will race the whole Tour," said Kopecky, the double Belgium Champišon looking ahead to the finale time trial.
"If I still feel fresh, I will go all out in the time trial. I'll see where this race brings me. If I feelš² that it's been enough, I will go easy in the time trial and try to make it a good šrecovery day."

Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.
Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, šSpring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and gšrowth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.