Charlotte Kool takes 3rd in Gennep, retains race lead

After yesterday’s prologue success, Team dsm-firmenich continued their good run of results as Charlotte Kool sprinted to third place in Gennep; retaining the overall lead of the race.

Attentive from the start, the team made sure that only a small group was allowed to get away before taking control at the front of the bunch. As the kilometres ticked by they slowly reeled in the three rider move and things were all back together going into the last 25 kilometres. This set off another flurry of attacks but once again the team covered the moves with Elise Uijen and Pfeiffer Georgi particularly active. Despite one last attack in the finale, the stage was set to come down to a sprint. Last lead-out rider Georgi brought Kool into position at the head of the race as they went under the flamme rouge. Kool looked to start her sprint from along the right-hand side but was blocked in a little bit but when the sprint opening up on the other side of the road. Finishing strongly, Kool fought to the line and took third place at the finish; holding onto the lead ahead of tomorrow’s time trial.

Speaking after the stage Kool expressed: “Today we went all-in for the win. The team were really impressive, we were where we needed to be throughout the day and all the girls were strong. In the final Pfeiffer did exactly what we had planned but SD Worx were strong with Lotte and Lorena, and I was blocked a bit. I couldn’t launch my sprint so had to come from really far back and I missed the moment there. I am quite disappointed with myself for making this mistake but luckily there are more chances coming and hopefully we can show everyone how good we are.”

Team dsm-firmenich coach Kelvin Dekker continued: “We had the plan to be in control all day and set up the sprint. It was a shame to lose Maeve in a crash so Daniek took over the role of working earlier and she did a good job, as did everyone else throughout the stage. All day we were in control and ready. Even in the lead-out, it wasn’t perfect, but we were there and where we needed to be. Then in the last 300 metres Charlotte had to be busy with other things than just waiting to launch her sprint. She lost some momentum there and then from that point her sprint was done. It’s a shame to lose an opportunity like that because I think the team was really great today. We did everything right and on a good level, so it’s a shame to not give ourselves something for that. Third is a good result, but after how we rode today then we had hoped for more. We have more opportunities here though so we’ll keep fighting to get on that top step again.”