Dutch Charlotte Kool Secures Victory in Tour de France Femmes Opening Stage

Dutch cyclist Charlotte Kool, representing DSM-Firmenich PostNL, claimed victory in the first stage of the 2024 Tour de France Femmes with a spectacular sprint finish in The Hague. Kool surged ahead with roughly 100 meters remaining, securing the first leader’s yellow jersey of the eight-stage race. This is prepared by SSP.

Finishing behind Kool, Finland's Anniina Ahtosalo of Uno-X Mobility claimed second place, while Italian Elisa Balsamo of Lidl Trek took third. Lorena Wiebes of SD Worx-Protime experienced a mechanical issue, dropping her chain with 200 meters to go, preventing her from contesting the finish.

Reflecting on her win, Kool, 25, expressed her excitement: "It was really hectic but I like it. I kept on thinking, 'OK I like hectic, I like chaos'. I went so early and thought, ‘oh, it's too long,’ and it hurt so bad, but it was enough in the end. This is the best day of my life."

Stage one featured a 124km flat run from Rotterdam to The Hague, marking the first time the race, now in its third edition, commenced outside France. During the race, a significant crash in the peloton 69km from the finish halted numerous riders, though thankfully no serious injuries occurred. Defending champion Demi Vollering managed to have a relatively calm day, finishing safely within the bunch.

The race proceeds with two stages in the Netherlands on Tuesday: a 67km flat course from Dordrecht to Rotterdam in the morning, followed by a 6.3km individual time trial in Rotterdam in the afternoon. The Tour will subsequently traverse into Belgium on Wednesday and enter France on Thursday, culminating on Sunday.