Kool edges first stage of women’s Tour de France
Dutch rider Charlotte Kool has won a mass sprint on home soil in the opening stage of the women’s Tour de France.
Kool, of the DSM-Firmenich PostNL team, will start Tuesday’s second stage in the leader’s yellow jersey after completing the 123km stage in two hours 47 minutes 40 seconds.
“It’s very special that everything fell into place,” she told Dutch broadcaster NOS. “This is the day I was hoping for.
“It was really hectic, but I like it. So, I kept on thinking: I like hectic, I like chaos. I went so early and I thought it’s too long and it hurt so bad, but it was enough in the end, so no words.”
Anniina Ahtosalo, of Finland, was second and Italy’s Elisa Balsamo third in the same time as Kool.
The highest-placed Australian was Ruby Roseman-Gannon, who was 19th in the same time as Kool.
Amber Pate, the only other Australian to finish in the top 50, was 47th. Both ride for Australia’s LIV-Alula Jayco team.
Last year’s race winner, Demi Vollering, of the SD Worx team finished back in 35th spot, three places ahead of Olympic road race champion Kristen Faulkner. Both riders also registered the same time as Kool.
Vollering’s teammate Lorena Wiebes had been one of the favourites to win a sprint finish, but her bike’s chain fell off within sight of the end and she dropped out of contention.
The stage took riders over flat countryside between the port city of Rotterdam to a North Sea beachside finishing line in a southern suburb of The Hague, amid hot summer temperatures. Thousands of spectators lined the streets of the two cities to watch.
The eight-stage race crosses into cycling-crazy Belgium and then heads south through eastern France to finish on the punishing climb of the Alpe-d’Huez’s famous 21 hairpin bends on August 18.
Tuesday sees two stages, a dash of just under 70km from Dordrecht to Rotterdam followed by a 6.3km individual time trial through the port city.
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