My name is Lotte and I am a female mountain biker from the Netherlands. I race world cups on my mountain bike and I love it! Especially because mountain biking is a combination between strength, technical skills, balance, and courage. You need them all to finish a ride or race. I started cycling quite late on my 18th and soon I noticed that I was fast on the bike and I really liked it.

My racing career began in 2016 and before I knew it I collected enough UCI points to participate in world cups which is 3 years ago now. Last year I became 3rd at the nationals. Besides cycling, I work as a doctor on the pediatric ward in Arnhem. I think the combination between top sport and being a doctor is wonderful and I learn from both. It is sometimes quite hard but it is so worth it. 

Last weekend I raced the second Mercedes Benz MTB World Cup of the season in Nové Město in the Czech Republic. The course is known as very rocky with a lot of roots. Definitely a course for a full suspension MTB. For me the course is always challenging since I started mountain biking quite late so I lack some skills on this kind of course. However, I don’t mind my weaknesses since I can keep on improving them.  

Two years ago, I participated in this World Cup for the very first time and this time round, I immediately felt much more confident on the course than last time. I have learned a lot the past two years, even though we haven’t been able to go abroad much.

I arrived the Wednesday before the race and on Thursday morning I went for a course check. The course was completely dry and super nice. But in the afternoon, it started raining and it didn’t stop raining until Saturday evening, the evening before the race. Result: a completely wet and slippery course. Even more challenging but also very educational!

After a good preparation on Saturday and some hours on the couch I was totally ready for Sunday’s race. I was quite nervous as I always am at these kind of big races. My start number wasn’t that good unfortunately because I missed a lot of points last year. I had to work on the COVID ward and made the decision to not go to World Cup last year as I felt that my time at the COVID ward was a lot more important than racing. I had start number 90 which meant that I only had one task: taking over other fellow riders! And I love that. 

In the first loop I moved up more than 30 places. From that moment on I decided to give everything on the climbs and try to ride as best as I can on the downhills to not lose that much time so that I could take over another couple of riders. In the last lap I noticed that I gave a bit too much energy at the beginning as other riders were taking over again. I’m still super happy with my 46th result on this course though!

Of course, this will not be the only competition Lotte will participate in this season, go give her a follow on Instagram (@lotte_koopmans) to keep up with her future achievements! Want to know more about Lotte? Check her backyard crew page.