Charlotte Kool powerfully sprinted to victory on stage one of many Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift in Den Haag on Monday afternoon, taking the yellow jersey too.
The dsm-firmenich PostNL rider, who hails from the Netherlands, took benefit of a derailleur challenge for favorite Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) to surge previous and take her first win on the Tour.
Second behind the Dutchwoman was Anniina Ahtosalo (Uno-X Mobility), the Finnish champion, with Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) sprinting to 3rd place.
Dsm-firmenich PostNL timed their acceleration completely to fight the would possibly of SD Worx-Protime. As Wiebes glanced down, seemingly unable to shift, Kool got here spherical Barbara Guarischi (SD Worx-Protime) and put the hammer all the way down to take the win, with nobody coming near her on the road.
Consequently, Kool will put on the yellow jersey on Tuesday’s stage 2 – a flat 67.9km circuit, and a 6.3km particular person time trial.
She additionally controls the inexperienced jersey competitors after stage one, whereas Ahtosalo will put on white. In the meantime, Cristina Tonetti (Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi) can be within the polka dots as queen of the mountains, after taking two mountain factors on the opening day.
“It’s unbelievable,” Kool stated. “It’s a dream come true. It was not a straightforward season, however this was what it was all about. I need to thank so many individuals, like my coach who saved believing in me, and all of the individuals round me.
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“It was actually hectic, however I preferred it. I like chaos. I went so early, and I assumed it was too early. It was sufficient ultimately, so no phrases.
“That is one of the best day of my life, it’s every little thing coming collectively and it’s actually particular.”
The way it occurred
A flat 123km from Rotterdam to Den Haag greeted the 153 riders of the third Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, with a chance for the primary yellow jersey of this version on the road.
After a number of mechanical issues within the neutralised zone, the flag was dropped by Marion Rousse, the race’s director.
At 104km to go, three riders tried to push off the entrance – Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka (Canyon-SRAM) Gaia Masetti (AG Insurance coverage-Soudal) and Iurani Blanco (Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi), however their transfer didn’t final lengthy.
In the meantime, two riders from Tashkent Metropolis, Madina Kakhorova and Asal Rizaeva, had been dropped from the peloton.
There was one other assault at 89km to go, however this didn’t final lengthy. Ekaterina Knebeleva of Tashkent Metropolis grew to become the primary rider to desert the race, 40km into the eight-stage occasion.
With 79km to go, Cristina Tonetti (Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi) attacked off the entrance of the peloton. There was an try to comply with by Giorgia Vettorello (Roland) and Blanco once more, however this got here to nothing.
As Tonetti sought to push her benefit, a giant crash within the bunch noticed a break up happen. At the very least seven riders had been off their bikes, together with Lizzie Deignan (Lidl-Trek), Grace Brown (FDJ-Suez) and Fem van Empel (Visma-Lease a Bike). A motorbike change was wanted for Gaia Realini (Lidl-Trek), which briefly noticed the Italian over three minutes behind the entrance of the race.
Tonetti used the chaos to help her state of affairs, leaving her out of the entrance longer than she might need in any other case. Consequently, the younger Italian gained the QOM dash at Maasdeltatunnel, the one one of many day, which means she is going to put on the polka-dot jersey on Tuesday. Ruby Roseman-Gannon (Liv AlUla Jayco) got here second, gathering a single level.
The lone breakaway member, Tonetti, was caught with 60km to go.
Natalie Grinczer (Roland), and Asal Rizaeva and Mohinabonu Elmurodova (Tashkent Metropolis) each deserted the race contained in the second half of the day.
The day’s intermediate dash was gained by Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike), opening her account within the cost for her second inexperienced jersey.
Amanda Spratt (Lidl-Trek) was concerned in a crash with 28km to go. Kristen Faulkner (EF-Oatly-Cannondale), the Olympic street race champion, was pressured into a motorcycle change, as was Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek), however all of them made it again into the bunch.
SD Worx-Protime, Lidl-Trek, dsm-firmenich PostNL and EF-Oatly-Cannondale had been all concerned in holding the tempo excessive on the entrance of the bunch.
Elise Chabbey (Canyon-SRAM) and Loes Adegeest (FDJ-Suez) got here down in an incident with just below 2km to go, however there have been no important crashes on the finish, with all of the GC hopefuls coming in collectively.
A chaotic remaining 500m noticed SD Worx and dsm battling it out to take management of the entrance. Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) tried to open issues up, however was denied by a mechanical. This gave the chance to Charlotte Kool (dsm-firmenich PostNL) to dash into open air, and she or he continued this velocity to the road.
Outcomes
Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift stage one: Rotterdam > Den Haag (123km)
1. Charlotte Kool (Ned) dsm-firmenich PostNL, in 2:47:40
2. Anniina Ahtosalo (Fin) Uno-X Mobility
3. Elisa Balsamo (Ita) Lidl-Trek
4. Lotta Henttala (Fin) EF-Oatly-Cannondale
5. Marianne Vos (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike
6. Daria Pikulik (Pol) Human Powered Well being
7. Mylène de Zoete (Ned) Ceratizit-WNT
8. Kim Le Court docket (Mau) AG Insurance coverage-Soudal
9. Emilia Fahlin (Swe) Arkéa-B&B Motels
10. Blanka Vas (Hun) SD Worx-Protime, all at similar time
Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift basic classification after stage one
1. Charlotte Kool (Ned) dsm-firmenich PostNL, in 2:47:30
2. Anniina Ahtosalo (Fin) Uno-X Mobility, +4s
3. Elisa Balsamo (Ita) Lidl-Trek, +6s
4. Lotta Henttala (Fin) EF-Oatly-Cannondale, +10s
5. Marianne Vos (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike
6. Daria Pikulik (Pol) Human Powered Well being
7. Mylène de Zoete (Ned) Ceratizit-WNT
8. Kim Le Court docket (Mau) AG Insurance coverage-Soudal
9. Emilia Fahlin (Swe) Arkéa-B&B Motels
10. Blanka Vas (Hun) SD Worx-Protime, all at similar time
