‘I have nothing to lose’ – Three tough stages ahead for ‘realistic’ Lotte Kopecky at Giro d’Italia Women
World Champion pulls to within three seconds of༒ GC lead after stage 5 win but will see 'how far I get' on Blockhaus climb

SD Worx-Protime team leader and world champion 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Lotte Kopecky couldn’t have been clearer coming into the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Giro d’Italia Women that stage wins, not the general classification were the aim for the world champion but now, after stage 5, she is sitting just three seconds back from the coveted maglia rosa.
Kopecky has Italian favourite 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) just ahead of her and 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ-SUEZ) hovering 35 seconds behind, while last year's runner-up Juli✱ette Labousဣ (dsm-firmenich-Post NL) is 46 seconds in back from the Belgian.
All those rivals have over time been perhaps more noted for their climbing than Kopecky, as her strength lies in the fast finishes and lumpy courses, however after coming sixth on the Tourmalet finish of the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Tour de France Femmes last year♑ and winning atop Jebel Hafeet at the UAE Tour Women at the start of this season, she's a rider that's hard to rule out despite the brutal ascents ahead.
“I am here to prepare for the Olympics. This stage win is a boost. I am now three seconds off leader Elisa Lo💞ngo-Borghini, which is a nice position," said Kopecky, who is also wearing the red sprinters' jersey in a quote shared on social media by SD Worx-Protime.
"I am realistic that the next three days will be very ꦛtough. I don&rsqu♒o;t feel any pressure towards the general classification. I am trying to recover as well as I can."
The rider from SD Worx-Protime who did go into the rღace with an eye to the tough mountain stages is Niamh Fisher-Black, who is now꧒ sitting seventh overall though just 1:07 back from overall leader Longo Borghini.
The stages🐽 ahead could contribute significant losses and gains from the lumpy stagꦇe to Chieti on Friday, the queen stage finishing atop Blockhaus on stage 7 and even on the final day of racing in the Apennines, the terrain still provides a chance to alter the GC.
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"Tomorrow will already be a hard day, and Saturday for sure with the Blockhaus climb. I’ve never ridden it before, but if you look at the profile, you can see it’s a 🌺tricky climb."
Stage 7 on Saturday delivers 3,600m of vertical elev🍒ation gain, venturing onto the Blockhaus slopes twice, the first time up to the Lanciano Pass, which is 12.4km at 8.3% with a maximum gradient of 13% and the🃏 second finishing climb adds another 5.3 kilometres at 7% for a total climb of 17.7 km
"I’ll see how far I get. I have noth🍷ing to lose,” Kopecky conclude﷽d.

Simone is a degree-qualified journalist that has accumulated decades of wide-ranging experience while working across a variety of leading media organisations. She joined Cyclingnews as a Production Editor at the start of the 2021 season and has now moved into the role of Australia Editor. Previously she worked as a freelance writer, Australian Editor at Ella CyclingTips and as a correspondent for Reuters and Bloomberg. Cycling was initially purely a leisure pursuit for Simone, who started out as a business journalist, but in 2015 h✱er carꦜeer focus also shifted to the sport.