Kopecky strong again in Vejle with fifth for Team Novo Nordisk

Matyas Kopecky dug deep again on the Queen Stage of PostNord Danmark Rundt, battling on the by now well known circuits around Vejle to finish fifth for Team Novo Nordisk.

The 23-year-old Czech had this stage in his sights all race and after last year’s 11th place knew that he could go better and break the top ten. Kopecky didn’t just break the top ten, he made it into the top five, the best result on Denmark’s Queen Stage for TNN.

“I knew I could go better than last year,” said Kopecky. “I felt good at the start and I was confident of getting a good result if I was in the right group at the end. But with around 50km to go I started to feel worse, I started to go low and had to take a gel, refuel and settle down and then before the circuits I felt better.”

“When Pedersen went I just tried to keep the pace high, but everyone was on the limit and it took a while for the chase to get organized and by the time we hit the circuits in Vejle the gap started to close.”

The last laps saw Kopecky part of the first group behind Pedersen and biding his time until the sprint with the Lidl-Trek rider almost certainly out of sight.

“I think most guys in my group knew they we were fighting for second place,” continued Kopecky. “I felt confident in my sprint and knew I had to be patient and wait until the end, I lost a little bit of pace in the chicane before the line and then just hung on. I couldn’t get out of the saddle again.”

“Really happy and proud of how we rode today, here in Denmark where it means so much to our community and to our sponsors Novo Nordisk, it’s extra special. We had a rough start to the race, but we’re smiling today.”