Lotte Kopecky becomes the first Belgian to reach world number 1
A first for Belgian women's cycling: Lotte Kopecky tops the UCI rankings.
World champion Lotte Kopecky has climbed to the top of the International Cycling Union's (UCI) road cycling world ranking.
With 5,095 points, our world champion is ahead of her Dutch teammate Demi Vollering (4,990.86 points). Lorena Wiebes, also from the Netherlands, is in 3rd place (3,520 points).
The Antwerp native had an excellent spring under the rainbow colours, with the world number 1 spot as her reward. Lotte Kopecky won Paris-Roubaix and the Strade Bianche, as well as the Nokere Koerse and the final classification of the UAE Tour. She also finished second in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.
The 29-year-old Belgian will return to competition at the Tour of Britain in early June, before tackling the Giro d'Italia and then defending Belgian colours at the Olympic Games in Paris, where she hopes to shine in both road and track events.
Well done to our cyclist for a performance that will go down in Belgian sporting history!