GOING LOCO

She may be fearsomely serious, even ruthless on her bike, but does Lotte Kopecky have a playful side too, despite her burgeoning fame? Tom Davidson finds out

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It is an overcast afternoon in the medieval Belgian city of Ghent, and a racket is beginning to stir. Throngs of people have gathered in Kouter Square, usually a tranquil flower market, for the homecoming of their hero. Suddenly, a wooden cart appears. It trundles past the crowds, who turn to stare. On it, two rows of raucous men face each other, each turning their own set of pedals as they slosh their drinks and sing along. It is a beer bike, a staple stag-do activity, and the revellers have just spotted someone important.

They cannot believe their luck. There, in the square, is the new cycling world champion, Lotte Kopecky, greeting the masses on a specially organised fan day. “I was just standing there taking photos with fans,” she remembers. Until, all of a sudden, she was not. Summoned by chants of her name, a slur in unison to the tune of The White Stripes anthem Seven Nation Army, Kopecky did something none of the men expected: she vaulted over the metal barriers to join them. “It looked funny, so I ran to the bike and I jumped on it,” she laughs. “The guys liked it. I got a lot of messages from them. They even asked me to come to the wedding. I couldn’t go, but it was a funny moment.”

It is a side to the world champion that cycling fans might not recognise. On the road and track, the 28-year-old Belgian is a straight-faced assassin, admired for the pedal-thrashing panache that has earned her world titles on the road and track, three national road race titles, Monument victories and six days in the yellow jersey at the Tour de France Femmes. And yet, for all the hard work, there is time to play hard, too.