Injury changes Lotte Kopecky's Tour de France Femmes ambitions

Team SD Worx – Protime have played down Lotte Kopecky’s GC ambitions for the Tour de France Femmes in the wake of her recent travails at the Giro d’Italia Women. 

The world champion abandoned the Giro with a back injury that limited her in the high mountains, and she will now start the Tour de France Femmes with an initial eye to stage victories rather than targeting the general classification from the outset.

Kopecky placed second overall at the Tour de France Femmes on her last appearance in 2023, and she had been expected to take a concerted tilt at the GC this year. 

“The run-up to this Tour de France Femmes has not been ideal for Lotte,” said team manager Danny Stam. “In Brittany, she will immediately face two stages that should suit her well. We will have to wait and see how she starts there. Then we will take it day by day during the race to see how she is doing. Maybe there are still opportunities to compete for the general classification, and if so, we will go for it.”

Although Kopecky’s winter was interrupted by a knee injury, she claimed a third Tour of Flanders victory in April. She performed strongly in support of sprinter Lorena Wiebes in the opening phase of the Giro but she was a non-starter on stage 6 due to a nagging back injury.

“This meant that she was unable to follow the optimal preparation for the Tour de France Femmes,” read a statement from SD Worx on Wednesday. “As a result, Kopecky and the team are considering whether riding a short classification is realistic in the race.”

Kopecky will be joined in the SD Worx line-up by Anna van der Breggen, who came out of retirement at the start of the season. Although Van der Breggen placed third overall at the Vuelta España Femenina and sixth at the Giro d’Italia Women, Stam indicated that she would not make a specific target of the general classification in France.

“Anna is an important link in the team, who can perform well herself but can also guide others to success,” he said. “She too focuses primarily on stage success but will always keep the general classification in mind. When Lotte Kopecky is in a position to go for the general classification, Anna will certainly support her fully.”

The apparently low-key GC ambitions mark a significant change in outlook for SD Worx, who won the Tour de France Femmes with Demi Vollering in 2023. Vollering left the team for FDJ-Suez at the start of this season, and she will set out as the favourite for the Tour de France Femmes.

SD Worx also lost additional GC contenders Marlen Reusser to Movistar and Niamh Fisher-Black to Lidl-Trek during the off-season. Reusser beat Vollering to Tour de Suisse Women in June and then placed second overall at the Giro.

Beyond Kopecky and Van der Breggen, SD Worx will target stage victories through sprinter Lorena Wiebes, who has already scored 14 wins in 2025, including Milan-San Remo and Gent-Wevelgem. “On paper, stage 3 is a sprinter’s stage,” said Stam. “However, I also see a few other possibilities, because Lorena can also compete well on hilly terrain.”

The SD Worx – Protime line-up is completed by Mischa Bredewold, Femke Gerritse, Blanka Vas and road captain Elena Cecchini.