After kicking off the week in style with the prologue victory in the Netherlands at the Baloise Ladies Tour, Team dsm-firmenich claimed back-to-back wins when Charlotte Kool finished off the team’s hard work to win the bunch sprint on Thursday.
The peloton rolled out from a rainy Zwevegem in the Belgian province of West Flanders, to begin a fast race on the almost pancake-flat course. For almost the whole day, the ladies of Team dsm-firmenich rode strongly at the front of the bunch, controlled the race and chased down several attacks. One rider tried her luck with 45 kilometres to go and was joined by another later on. The team increased the pace once again and caught the two leaders with an enticing ten kilometres to go. Coming into the finish, the team performed a solid lead-out with Pfeiffer Georgi as the last rider, after which Charlotte Kool flew across the finish line to reward the team’s efforts with the top spot on the podium.
Speaking after the finish Kool said, “The team were very strong today as we controlled the peloton perfectly to prevent any dangerous breakaways. In the finale the girls did an amazing lead-out, so this victory is for them.”
Team dsm-firmenich coach Albert Timmer added, “The girls carried out our race strategy perfectly. We checked if there was enough wind for echelons, but this was unfortunately not the case. At a certain point in the race two riders escaped, but Daniek and Nienke did a great job by chasing them down before the finale. From that moment Elise, Lèa and Pfeiffer increased the pace, positioned Charlotte and did a perfect lead-out for her in the bunch sprint. There are always some points of improvement, but we can be satisfied with the way we rode today, and taking back-to-back wins is special!”
