Charlotte Kool (Fenix-Premier Tech) made up for the previous day's loss by taking the sprint victory on stage 2 at the Baloise Ladies Tour.
The Dutch sprinter, who finished second on stage 1, stormed across the line ahead of runner-up Nienke Veenhoven (Visma- Lease a Bike) and third-placed Maike van der Duin (Canyon-SRAM) in Zulte.
Kool's victory means she has moved to the top of the GC standings, taking the jersey from overnight leader Zoe Bäckstedt (Canyon-SRAM), and is now five seconds ahead. Veenhoven is in third place at seven seconds back.
The second stage of the Baloise Ladies Tour was a 130.4km race in Zulte that included two circuits at the start and then three circuits at the end of the stage.
There were several short-lived attacks until a late-race breakaway of four cleared the field to include Anne Knijnenburg, Noémie Thomson, Aileen Schweikart and Eline Van Rooijen.
All were brought back in the final circuit of the race, inside 5km to go. SDWorx-Protime led the field into a bunch sprint, but it was Kool who took the win.
Results
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Position
Rider (Country) Team
Time Gap
1
Charlotte Kool (Ned) Fenix-Premier Tech
3:09:30
2
Nienke Veenhoven (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike
Row 1 - Cell 2
3
Maike Van Der Duin (Ned) Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto
Row 2 - Cell 2
4
Clara Copponi (Fra) Lidl-Trek
Row 3 - Cell 2
5
Lotte Kopecky (Bel) SD Worx-Protime
Row 4 - Cell 2
6
Jane Zoe Backstedt (GBr) Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto
Row 5 - Cell 2
7
Linda Zanetti (Swi) Uno-X Mobility
Row 6 - Cell 2
8
Georgia Baker (Aus) Liv AlUla Jayco
Row 7 - Cell 2
9
Lonneke Uneken (Ned) Volkerwessels
Row 8 - Cell 2
10
Femke Gerritse (Ned) SD Worx-Protime
Row 9 - Cell 2
General classification after stage 2
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Position
Rider (Country) Team
Time Gap
1
Charlotte Kool (Ned) Fenix-Premier Tech
5:58:30
2
Zoe Bäckstedt (GBr) Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto
0:00:05
3
Nienke Veenhoven (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike
0:00:07
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Kirsten Frattini has been the Editor of Cyclingnews since December 2025, overseeing editorial operations and output across the brand and delivering quality, engaging content.
She manages global budgets, racing & events, production scheduling, and contributor commissions, collaborating across content sections and teams in the UK, Europe, North America, and Australia to ensure audience and subscription growth across the brand.
Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
