Kopecky Eyes Historic Flanders-Roubaix Double After Record Fourth Ronde Win: "The Cobbles Are My Life"
Hours after making history as the first rider — man or woman — to win the Tour of Flanders four times, Lotte Kopecky set an even more audacious target: completing an unprecedented Flanders-Roubaix Femmes double in the space of a week. Speaking in the Oudenaarde mixed zone after outsprinting Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Liane Lippert and Katarzyna Niewiadoma for a fourth Ronde title, the SD Worx-Protime leader confirmed she will line up in Denain next Saturday with one clear objective.
"The cobbles are my life. Flanders is done now and I will celebrate this one tonight, but Saturday I will be on the start line in Denain with the same hunger," Kopecky said. "I have never won Paris-Roubaix Femmes and that is the piece missing from my collection. If I can ride like I did today, I believe it is possible. The body feels amazing right now — better than it has for two years." The Belgian has previously finished second and fourth at the Hell of the North, but the cobblestone trophy has so far eluded her.
Sunday's Ronde was decided on the Oude Kwaremont, where Kopecky accelerated clear with Ferrand-Prévot, Lippert and Niewiadoma. The four rode together into Oudenaarde before a tactical final kilometre saw Kopecky time her jump to perfection, powering past the Frenchwoman to take her third Flanders title in four years. With victories in 2022, 2023, 2025 and now 2026, she stands alone in the Ronde history books and has collected her sixth Monument of a remarkable career, adding to her March win at Milan-San Remo.
The Roubaix challenge, though, is different. The 2026 Paris-Roubaix Femmes will be held on Saturday April 11, the day before the men's race, and runs 165 kilometres from Denain to the Roubaix velodrome with 17 cobbled sectors totalling 29.2 km of pavé. Last year's edition was won by Ferrand-Prévot on her race debut — a result that still stings Kopecky, who punctured out of contention on the Carrefour de l'Arbre. "Last year I was in the form of my life and I had a flat tyre at exactly the wrong moment. You need luck at Roubaix. Maybe this year the luck will be on my side."
Ferrand-Prévot, denied her own Flanders breakthrough on Sunday, will arrive as defending Roubaix champion and the Belgian's most obvious rival. The Visma-Lease a Bike all-rounder has already said she plans to use the week to recover from Sunday's effort and defend her title with the same long-range tactics that worked so well a year ago. Lippert, Niewiadoma, Elisa Longo Borghini — if she recovers from the flu that compromised her Flanders — and a rejuvenated Marianne Vos will all start with realistic ambitions on the cobbles.
SD Worx-Protime directeur sportif Anna van der Breggen said the team will give Kopecky every chance. "Lotte is in incredible shape and she deserves this chance at Roubaix. We will give her the strongest possible team. If anyone can do the double in one week, it is her. But we also know that Roubaix is not Flanders — one puncture, one crash and the dream ends. We go in with eyes open." Lorena Wiebes, typically the team's sprint card, is also expected to line up, providing a second option if the race comes back together on the velodrome concrete.
No rider has ever completed the Flanders-Roubaix double in the modern women's Monument era, which began only in 2021 when Lizzie Deignan won the inaugural Paris-Roubaix Femmes. The gap between the races — just six days — is brutal, but Kopecky's Monument pedigree and current form make the ambition credible in a way it simply would not be for almost any other rider in the peloton. "I want to leave nothing on the table this spring," she said. "I want every cobblestone there is."