Charlotte Kool (dsm-firmenich PostNL) sprinted to victory in stage 1 of the Tour de France Femmes in The Hague, Netherlands. Rounding out the podium in second was Anniina Ahtosalo (Uno-X Mobility), followed by Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) who took third.
Afterwards, Kool expressed her disbelief. “It’s unbelievable. It’s a dream come true. It was not an easy season, but this was what it was all about. I want to thank so many people, like my trainer who kept believing in me, and all the people around me.”
Kool explained that it was not an easy sprint. “It was really hectic, but I liked it. I like chaos. I went so early, and I thought it was too early. It was enough in the end, so no words.
“This is the best day of my life, it’s everything coming together and it’s really special.”
It was an especially sweet victory for Kool who suffered most of the season from a health issue that was just recently resolved. “We found out what it was, that was a relief. From that moment on I immediately felt so good in training, my sprints felt right again and I could really start to believe in it again. That I win here is perfect timing. I think it is the reward of never giving up.”
Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) was picked to win the stage, but had a mechanical in the final meters. Teammate Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime) explained what happened. “I think we did a perfect job as a team today. We were at the front of the peloton all day. There were a few crashes, but we weren’t among them. The girls kept us in the front of the peloton. It was perfect until the last 500 meters. Someone hit Lorena’s rear wheel. Her chain was completely off. That would have been it. It’s such a shame, because otherwise she would have finished here. She was badly burned, this hurts a lot. I held her for a moment, she was in tears. That it ended like this… She couldn’t even try, that’s a huge shame.”
RESULTS
Stage 1: Rotterdam > The Hague (123km)
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
