Baloise Ladies Tour: Charlotte Kool wins stage 1 to take control of race lead

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Chiara Consonni and Nienke Veenhoven grab podium spots in fierce sprint in Knokke-Heist

KNOKKE-HEIST, BELGIUM - JULY 17: (L-R) Charlotte Kool of Netherlands and Team Picnic PostNL - Red points Jersey, Nienke Veenhoven of Netherlands and Team Visma | Lease a Bike, Barbara Guarischi of Italy and Team SD Worx - Protime and Chiara Consonni of Italy and Team CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto sprint at finish line to win during the 11th Baloise Ladies Tour 2025, Stage 1 a 127.2km stage from Jabbeke to Knokke-Heist on July 17, 2025 in Knokke-Heist, Belgium. (Photo by Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Baloise Ladies Tour: Charlotte Kool (Picnic-PostNL) sprints to stage 1 victory (Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
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Charlotte Kool (Picnic-PostNL) was the fastest of a bunch sprint to win stage 1 at the Baloise Ladies Tour. The Dutch sprinter capitalised off a perfect lead from her teammates to take the win ahead of Chiara Consonni (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) and Nienke Veenhoven (Visma-Lease a Bike).

Kool started the day just two seconds behind overnight leader Zoe Bäckstedt (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) in the general classification. She earned valuable time bonuses at the finish line and so moved into the overall race leader's jersey ahead of stage 2 in Olsene on Friday.

Bäckstedt lined up on stage 1 as the overall race leader, after winning the previous day's prologue, for a 127.2km of flat racing from Jabbeke to Knokke-Heist.

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KNOKKE-HEIST, BELGIUM - JULY 17: Charlotte Kool of Netherlands and Team Picnic PostNL celebrates at podium as Purple Leader Jersey winner during the 11th Baloise Ladies Tour 2025, Stage 1 a 127.2km stage from Jabbeke to Knokke-Heist on July 17, 2025 in Knokke-Heist, Belgium. (Photo by Luc Claessen/Getty Images)

Stage 1 winner Charlotte Kool of Picnic-PostNL celebrates at podium as the new Purple Leader Jersey winner (Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)

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Kirsten Frattini
Kirsten Frattini
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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.

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