World champion Lotte Kopecky abandoned the Giro d'Italia Women ahead of stage six in order to recover for the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.
The SD Worx-Protime rider reportedly has lower back pain, but her team remain confident that she will be back to her best for the Tour, which begins on 26 July in Vannes.
The 29-year-old, who finished second at the Giro last year, lost time on the two mountain stages so far at this race, stage two to Aprica and stage four to Pianezze. This under-performance was due to that back issue, her team said.
“Lotte has pain in her lower back; that’s why things didn’t go as they should on the climbs. Under these circumstances, there was little point in going all-out on the finishing climb, and Lotte chose to take it easy," SD Worx sports director Danny Stam told Het Laatste Nieuws on Wednesday.
"Lotte Kopecky will not start tomorrow's sixth stage of the Giro d'Italia Women. The world champion is still experiencing some discomfort in her lower back. As a precaution ahead of the Tour de France Femmes, she is leaving the Giro d'Italia Women to take three to four days of complete rest," her team said in a statement on Thursday evening.
"According to the medical staff of Team SD Worx–Protime, the discomfort in her lower back should heal completely with a few days of rest. She will then be able to resume her preparations for the Tour de France Femmes as planned."
Kopecky had come into this race with the focus squarely on the Tour later this summer, which has been her big goal all season. The world champion has only won twice so far this year, at the Tour of Flanders and the Belgian national time trial championships.
"Kopecky will ride the Giro d’Italia in preparation for the Tour de France Femmes. The overall classification in France is her main goal," Stam said pre-race.
However, the Belgian has come close to results in this Giro, finishing second on the opening time trial, third behind teammate Lorena Wiebes on stage three, and fourth behind Wiebes on stage five.
SD Worx's Anna van der Breggen moved up to third overall on Thursday, 1:53 behind race leader Marlen Reusser (Movistar), ahead of three more hard stages in Italy.
