The hot hills of the Ardennes brings out the fighting spirit

Matyas Kopecky dug deep for Team Novo Nordisk on the Queen Stage of the Baloise Belgium Tour in soaring temperatures to finish 15th after an explosive second half of the stage

Racing across the beautiful yet unforgiving terrain of the Ardennes is always a challenge but under the blazing sun with temperatures soaring above 30c it’s a torturous experience.

After disappointment in Durbuy on the same stage last year the 22-year-old showed he had learned from the experience and positioned himself well on the relentless climbs.

“Last year I was way too far back in the group,” said Kopecky. “When it split there was no way back, so I knew that this time I had to be well placed and ready to suffer on the climbs to get a result.”

“I felt surprisingly good considering the hot conditions and parcours, when the attack came that caused a big split at the front, I had a little bit left in the tank and tried to be smart as it was still a long way out and that proved to be a good choice because the groups came back together. It’s a big improvement on last year and I’m satisfied with that ride.”