Baloise Ladies Tour: Charlotte Kool wins two in a row with stage 1 sprint victory
Emma Norsgaard second, Lucinda Brand third in Zwevegem
Charlotte Kool (Team dsm-firmenich) made it two in a row at the Baloise Ladies Tour winning the stage 1 sprint in Zwevegem and extending her overall race lead.
Emma Norsgaard (Movistar) was second on the day with Lucinda Brand (Lidl-Trek) taking third in the group sprint after the peloton caught the last rider of the day's breakaway in the closing kilometres of the race.
“The team were very strong today as we controlled the peloton perfectly to prevent any dangerous breakaways," Kool said after her win. "In the finale the girls did an amazing lead-out, so this victory is for them.”
The stage 1 route of 119km offered the field a large circuit followed by shorter finish circuits in Zwevegem. In the opening 15km of the rainy start, the riders crossed a 2km section of cobblestone on the Varentstraat, all safely across and no early moves on the taking. Team dsm-firmenich rode at the front of the peloton and controlled the race, chasing down several attacks.
It was not until 45km to go that Anniek Mos (GT Krush Rebellaese Pro Cycing) sparked a move that stuck for a solo effort. With 32km to go she was joined by Aniek van Alphen (Fenix-Deceuninck).
They stayed away and gained more than 50 seconds across the next 17km until Van Alphen accelerated on her own and dropped Mos. A few kilometres later the break ended and the peloton was ready for a bunch sprint.
In the final kilometre on a narrow road and a 90-degree left-hand turn, several riders slid out and crashed. Pfeiffer Georgi sailed safely through on the inside in the leadout for Kool, who finished if off with a back-to-back victory.
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Jackie has been involved in professional sports for more than 30 years in news reporting, sports marketing and public relations. She founded Peloton Sports in 1998, a sports marketing and public relations agency, which managed projects for Tour de Georgia, Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and USA Cycling. She also founded Bike Alpharetta Inc, a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling. She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams. She has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast). Her favorite road and gravel rides are around horse farms in north Georgia (USA) and around lavender fields in Provence (France), and some mtb rides in Park City, Utah (USA).
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