Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) was named the Flandrienne of the Year for a fifth consecutive time while Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) took a second trophy as the top Flandrien. The annual gala, organised by Het Nieuwsblad, was held Tuesday evening in Middelkerke.
The same duo received honours three weeks ago with the Kristallen Fiets, Crystal Bicycle, as the best Belgian cyclists organised by another Belgian newspaper, Het Laatste Nieuws. Kopecky also received a special Sporting Merit Trophy last month.
Kopecky had a stellar season in 2024, winning back-to-back rainbow jerseys as the women’s road race world champion plus two silver medals at Track World Championships in the Elimination and Points races. She also earned a bronze medal in the road race at the Paris Olympic Games and a silver medal in front of a home crowd at the UCI Gravel World Championships.
Across the road season with SD Worx-Protime, Kopecky recorded 16 victories and ended the season as the top-ranked rider on the UCI World Ranking, a first for a Belgian elite woman.
According to Het Nieuwsblad, Kopecky’s entire family was present for the awards presentation, which was made as a surprise by her grandfather François.
Justine Ghekiere (AG Insurance-Soudal), who won the Le Grand-Bornand stage at the Tour de France Femmes, Lore De Schepper (AG Insurance-Soudal), Margot Vanpachtenbeke (VolkerWessels) and Fleur Moors (Lidl-Trek) were among the other nominees with recognition from ‘a jury of experts’ who vote for the Flandrienne of the Year.
The men’s award is decided from among peers in the peloton, who gave the nod to double Olympic gold medallist Evenepoel over Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep) and last year’s winner Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck). Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek) also received votes.
Evenepoel scored nine road victories in 2024, which included a second time trial world title and the time trial and road race sweep at the Paris Olympic Games.
“Winning this prestigious trophy for the second time in my career is something that makes me proud, because it rewards what has been one of my best seasons since turning pro,” Evenepoel said in a team statement.
“I want to thank my family and my team for their continuous support and for believing in me, this wouldn’t have been possible without them. It’s something that motivates me to become even better and achieve more beautiful results in the Soudal Quick-Step and Belgian jerseys.”
The Flandrien of the Future trophies were presented to Jenze Joris as the best newcomer, Jasper Schoffs as the top junior and Jarno Wilder as the best under-23 rider. The Baanbreker award as trailblazer of the year went to Ewoud Vromant.
The Lidl Cycling Heroes award was presented by Kopecky to a pair of brothers, a 10-year-old and an 11-year-old, who rode 150km and raised €15,000 for the Children’s Cancer Fund.
