Dutch sprinter Charlotte Kool was forced out of the Tour de France Femmes on Friday after missing the stage 7 time cut on Mont Ventoux.
Though she was clearly struggling, and off the back of the race, the Fenix-Premier Tech rider finished the stage, crossing the line 55.55 behind stage winner and new overall leader, Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM).
Each stage of the Tour de France Femmes has a time cut, normally set as a percentage of the winner's time, and Friday’s stage was set at 20%. Niewiadoma won with a time of 4.22.53, allowing all riders just over 52 minutes to reach the finish. Sadly for Kool, she was over three minutes late, meaning she will not start Saturday’s penultimate stage into Nice, one that might have given her a winning opportunity.
This year’s Tour has not been an easy one for the 27-year-old Dutch woman. She arrived at the start in Lausanne hoping to replicate her 2024 performance by winning the opening stage and taking the yellow jersey.
However, she was dropped on the early climbs and finished 142nd. Last Sunday’s second stage was touted by most as a nailed-on chance for a bunch kick, but once again Kool was absent, though her 106th place, behind Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) was her best of the race.
Indeed, Wiebes has proved to be Kool’s nemesis in recent years. For a couple of seasons she was the final lead-out rider at Team DSM for Wiebes, but gained the team’s sprint leadership when her compatriot moved onto SD Worx. Since then she has struggled for victories, failing to establish consistent winning form, though, of course, she is racing head-to-head against Wiebes, doubtless the world’s best and most consistent sprinter.
With only one win in 2025 last year proved particularly difficult for Kool and she moved to her new squad, Fenix-Premier Tech, mid-season. This year she has had five wins to date, the most recent at stage 3 of the Baloise Ladies Tour in July.
However, she would have expected a much better return at the Tour this week and her failure to trouble the top 100 would perhaps suggest illness or injury.
"Charlotte Kool won’t start Stage 8, after finishing outside the time limit on Mont Ventoux following a challenging Tour. She will come back stronger!" the team posted on Instagram.
In total, only 127 of the original 147 riders finished Friday’s stage, a combination of crashes, illness and pure exhaustion causing their withdrawal over the preceding days.
The Tour de France Femmes continues on Saturday, with a day of racing that takes the riders from Sisteron, on the edge of the Alps, to the coastal city of Nice. Despite two late climbs on the 171.9km stage, the day may well end with a bunch sprint.
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