Winning the first stage of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift was only the start for Charlotte Kool (DSM Firmenich-PostNL), but with Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) out of that sprint due to a mechanical, questions lingered as to who would be victorious when the two came head-to-head.
It did not take long for those questions to be answered. The finish of stage 2 was smooth for the two sprinters, they came to the line together, and Kool won fair and square, proving to be the better sprinter of the two on Tuesday morning.
The battle started in the early months of the 2023 season, at the UAE Tour, and at the time it looked like it would be a season-long storyline, but by the time the Classics rolled around Wiebes was far and away the best. With a new season came new opportunities but Kool couldn’t rise to the occasion, instead, it looked like Wiebes would top every fast finish of 2024.
Kool revealed after she won the first stage that she’d been suffering from breathing issues throughout the early months of the season but was feeling finally at her best for the Tour, and her recovery couldn’t have come at a better time. Ahead of the first two stages all eyes were on Wiebes, yet instead DSM Firmenich-PostNL has notched two stage victories in two days and will begin the stage 3 time trial in yellow with a 14-second lead on Anniina Ahtosalo (Uno-X Mobility) in second and Wiebes in third on the same time as the Finnish rider.
Unlike after the first stage, when Wiebes was seen visibly emotional after the line having not had the chance to sprint for the stage, the SD Worx-Protime rider was happy with what had gone right for her and her team going into the stage 2 sprint.
“I was happy I was sprinting and how the team did the lead out, I think in the final kilometre we were the only one who had a lead out so we can be proud of that,” Wiebes said after the second stage.
“I think maybe I started my sprint a bit too early, but things like this also happen in sprinting, like with the men’s you also see not only one sprinter winning everything, my chance is coming up.”
For Kool, dreams coming true is currently happening at a pace to match her sprint.
“We were a bit far but I tried to stay as calm as possible and I just launched my sprint and it was enough,” Kool explained. “We were quite in control the whole day, but we heard some crashes, I hope everyone is okay. It’s quite a hectic course but what can I say, I like it. Dreams come true quite fast these days.”
Wiebes will have the opportunity to take the yellow jersey off Kool already on Tuesday afternoon. The 6.3 km time trial suits Wiebes more than Kool. Wiebes clocked a faster time than Kool at the Baloise Ladies Tour in July, beating Kool by 51 seconds over the 11 km course. Wiebes won that stage and went on to win the race overall, but Kool is clearly flying at the moment.
“We all had confidence after yesterday, it’s one thing believing it and another thing doing it, but she’s just so fast,” Kool’s teammate Pfeiffer Georgi said after the stage.
“The first dream was getting yellow, the second was winning another stage, to show we have the best lead out and the best sprinter so I’m really glad that she finished it off,” said Franziska Koch, Kool’s other teammate.
Even if Kool loses the yellow jersey to Wiebes, or another rider, on Tuesday evening DSM Firmenich-PostNL can already count this Tour a success. There is only one other sprint stage in the race, stage 5 on Thursday, but two wins are two more than the Dutch team managed in 2023.
“The yellow gave Charlotte wings, and I can understand that,” Wiebes said after the second stage.
If the yellow jersey gave Kool wings, the loss of it would give Wiebes fire, and which one is more dangerous? One thing is certain, the battle for sprinting supremacy is on and Wiebes and Kool are at the center of it.
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