Charlotte Kool is looking for sporting revenge in the Tour: “Riding out of the Netherlands in yellow”

Tuesday, January 9, 2024 at 8:21 AM

Interview Charlotte Kool (24) scored victories like hotcakes in 2023, yet she does not yet describe herself as the best sprinter in the world. Not yet, because if it were up to her, she would be after the coming cycling year. She leaves at the presentation of her team DSM-firmenich PostNL CyclingFlits know that August 12 and 13 in particular are circled in red in her agenda. “The first days of the Tour are the main goal for this year.”

It was exciting for the general public to see how Kool would fare in 2023. The question was: could the student surpass the master? The departure of Lorena Wiebes, the sprint leader in the Dutch Women’s WorldTour formation in the previous years, opens the door for Kool to act as a permanent finisher herself. And she gratefully takes advantage of that.

She finished it at her first chance, and many more great victories would follow. Count: twice in the UAE Tour, the second stage in the Vuelta, the ZLM Omloop der Kempen, two stages and the final classification in the RideLondon Classique, four consecutive (!) stages in the Baloise Ladies Tour and to top it all off learn two more victories in the Simac Ladies Tour. The most beautiful? Kool doesn’t have any doubts about that for a moment. “That was the final stage in the UAE Tour. The fact that it worked right away was very nice.”

When the peloton applied the brakes in October, the counter stood at thirteen, good for third place in the international victory rankings. Closely behind Demi Vollering (15) and Lotte Kopecky (14), but ahead of Wiebes. Mentor passed by the student. What does it feel like to be the best sprinter in the world? “It was a really good season, but I wouldn’t say that after last year,” says Kool. “But if it were up to me, that would of course be the case after this year. In any case, I will do everything I can to do that.”

‘Best version of myself’
With star status under his belt, the Blaricum native can confidently look forward to the 2024 cycling season, in which another truckload of victories seems to be waiting for Kool. And that doesn’t just have to be in billiard-level races, as was often the case last year. An example: “In the first stage of the Tour there was a difficult climb in the final, but in the end I was able to participate in the sprint for second place. In addition, I really started the winter a lot better. I notice that I have gained much more content and have become more well-rounded. So it will be a bit easier this year to survive hills and climbs, without necessarily having to sacrifice speed.”

In other words, the competition can get the better of you. But who does she see as the main challengers? Lorena Wiebes and Elisa Balsamo? “Certainly. I don’t think Chiara Consonni had a very good season last year, but of course she is always someone to take into account. And it could well be that someone else joins in, but to be honest, I’m not really concerned with that. I also don’t have any lists of names that could become opponents in the coming years. What matters most to me is that I become the best version of myself.”

Yellow dream
Even though things were going great in 2023, not everything she touched turned to gold. There was no stage win in the Tour. “That was a bit sad,” says Kool. The taste of victory will be all the sweeter if he succeeds, especially because the Tour de France Femmes also starts in the Netherlands. The opening stage of the Tour finishes in The Hague and a day later another golden opportunity awaits in the center of Rotterdam. “The first days of the Tour are the main goal for this year,” she makes no bones about it. “These have been in my head for a long time. They really suit me. I’m going to do everything I can to win there. It would be very cool to be able to drive through the Netherlands in yellow.”

A scenario in which Kool wins the first two stages is far from unrealistic. But what about the time trial on day two? Because after the 67 kilometers between Dordrecht and Rotterdam, a 6.3 kilometer chrono test awaits in the streets of Rotterdam. And anyone who follows Kool’s career knows that she can now also compete with the best in short time trials. What is called: she managed to win both the prologue of the Simac Ladies Tour and the Baloise Ladies Tour.

Shouldn’t we be writing her down for three in a row by now? Kool himself tempers expectations somewhat: “I have really improved a lot in those short efforts, but the time trial in the Tour is still a bit longer. I don’t immediately take into account that I could win that. If I can ‘just’ keep the jersey and ride out of the Netherlands a day later in yellow, I will be completely happy.”

Click on Barbieri
Rotterdam is still far away. First let’s kick off the cycling season. For Kool & The Gang will that happen in the UAE Tour. In this multi-day race, Kool hopes to benefit from an optimized sprint train for the first time. “Things went very well with Pfeiffer Georgi as the lead-out, but now that Rachele Barbieri (arrived from Liv Racing TeqFind, ed.) has joined, she has moved one spot to the back.”

“In the ideal scenario, Rachele takes over from her, after which I have to finish it. I have felt a click with Rachele from the start and during training I notice that things are already going very well. She is a real teammate and she fits in well. Of course, it always has to work out during the race, but I have every confidence in that.”

The spring of Cabbage is broadly determined. “I certainly don’t ride everything, but I mainly do the races in which I really have a serious chance of winning. Definitely think of Ghent-Wevelgem, but also the Classic Brugge-De Panne and the Scheldeprijs. Not everything will revolve around me, because with Pfeiffer Georgi and Franziska Koch we have at least two more girls who can score in the Flemish classics, but I assume that there will be some opportunities for me.”

After Paris-Roubaix, it is not yet certain what the program will look like in the build-up to the Tour, although the Women’s Tour and the RideLondon Classique are described as serious options. “Last year I didn’t race for a while after the Tour. However, things went very well again in the Simac Ladies Tour. That gives me confidence that I could go to the Tour without specific preparation races.”

Olympics?
Everything shows that the sprint leader of DSM-firmenich PostNL is brimming with self-confidence. Bring on 2024. A year in which her fast sprinting legs could even take her to the Olympic Games. In mid-November she was one of the chosen ones from the Dutch selection who had already explored the road race route. A second main goal besides the Tour de France Femmes? “Of course it would be nice to ride there and I think the course should suit me, but I know that I am not the only one within the Dutch team. I’m just going to ride as best as I can in the spring to try to convince the national coach and then we’ll see.”