Charlotte Kool continued to demonstrate that Team DSM is doing just fine without Lorena Wiebes thank you very much, with a win on stage two of the Vuelta Femenina that was timed to perfection.
She took the sprint victory in Pilar de Horadada on Spain's east coast in a duel with Marianne Vos, who went on to take the leader's red jersey from her British team-mate Anna Henderson. It means Vos has now worn the leader's jersey in the women's Spanish, French and Italian Grand Tours – the only other rider to have done that being her compatriot Annemiek Van Vlueten.
It was a big moment for Kool too – the Dutch rider taking her first win in a Grand Tour and one that is very unlikely to be the last.
"Of course I'm really excited, this is my first big win in a Grand Tour, really nice to do it in the first opportunity," she said.
"It was a hectic final and we knew that. I was almost boxed in but luckily I found the right wheel in the end. It was a really long sprint – Chloe made it a really long sprint," she laughed.
In terms of adding to her tally, tomorrow's long, 157.8km stage from Elche de la Sierra to Le Roda also looks like a perfect sprinters' opportunity, and the Dutchwoman has it slap-bang in the crosshairs.
"Tomorrow's even more flat, so let's go!" she enthused.
The happy ending nearly didn't materialise for either rider was forced to chase down a very late attack by Chloe Dygert (Canyon-SRAM), who launched herself clear of the bunch with 500m to go in pursuit of the red leader's jersey.
The US rider managed to put several bike lengths into the pack before Vos launched her pursuit, with Kool hot on her wheel. The pair overhauled Dygert with around 70m left and Kool won the duel to the line.
That may be the last opportunity for Kool – or indeed any other sprinter – in this race, as things turn distinctly lumpy on stage four and never relent, with two summit finish mountain stages featuring in the latter half of the seven-stage race, including the final day to Lagos de Covadonga.
