Lotte Kopecky no longer wants to state her ambitions. She explained it to Sporza: if you say something is not a goal, you are not ambitious enough; if you say you are going for a medal or a win and it does not work out, you get written off everywhere. And she concludes: “In the end, it’s never good.”
I listened to that in the workshop, radio on the bench, a customer’s track wheel in the stand. That, for me, is a spoke problem. Tighten too much on one side, the wheel pulls out of true. Loosen it, it pulls the other way. Every spoke is under tension, and the wheel only stays straight if you stop touching it. She has stopped touching it. She’s right, mind you.
The worlds are in Shanghai, 14 to 18 October. With Shari Bossuyt, together for the first time in four years. Last time, they won the Madison. Neither of them will say she is aiming for the title. Fine. But in what gear? Nobody asks. On the track there is no derailleur, no brake, one sprocket. You change nothing on the way. You choose beforehand, and you tell nobody. They do the same with ambitions. It’s consistent.
She points out that earlier this year she won three European titles and Milan-Sanremo. According to Sporza, she has lost a few places in the pecking order since she was the undisputed number one two years ago. Me, I don’t know how to put a pecking order on a workshop stand.
She also says that, between now and Los Angeles 2028, the track will sometimes have to come before the road. Two bikes, two set-ups, one rider. That’s a saddle to put back at its height every time she switches, and the tape measure always in the pocket.
I’ll go and true the customer’s wheel, then. Without asking him what he’s aiming for.
It’s true, we checked: Sporza.
