Dutch sprint star Charlotte Kool has completed a high-profile move to Fenix-Deceuninck, joining the Belgian squad midway through the 2025 season after nearly four years with Team Picnic PostNL. The 25-year-old brings a formidable résumé to her new colours, with 21 career victories, including some of the sport’s most prestigious sprint finishes.
Kool has twice raised her arms at the Tour de France Femmes, taking back-to-back stage wins in 2024 and spending a day in the yellow jersey. She added a stage victory at the Vuelta in the same year, as well as the overall title at the 2023 RideLondon Classique. Over her time at Picnic PostNL, she evolved from a trusted lead-out rider into one of the peloton’s most feared finishers, consistently delivering against the best sprinters in the world.
The 2025 season has already seen Kool combine wins with consistent podiums. She opened her account with victory on stage 1 of the Baloise Ladies Tour, going on to take 2nd at Scheldeprijs and 3rd at Gent-Wevelgem in the Women’s WorldTour. Other notable results include 6th at the Copenhagen Sprint and multiple points classifications podiums across stage races. Her form has remained sharp, with top-10s at the Tour of Britain, UAE Tour, and Omloop van het Hageland, showing her adaptability to both pure sprints and tougher, attritional finishes.
For Kool, the transfer marks the start of what she calls “a new chapter” in her career. “From the very first conversation with the team, I had an immediate and genuinely good feeling about their mentality, and the trust they’ve placed in me. Of course, making a move halfway through the season comes with its challenges, but it feels right. I’ve been welcomed with open arms and I can’t wait to race in my new colours. My motivation has never been stronger,” she said.
Fenix-Deceuninck will be looking to maximise Kool’s proven turn of speed in the final part of the season, while also building for the future with her signed through to 2028. The team’s calendar offers multiple opportunities for bunch sprints and reduced group finishes, races where Kool’s blend of positioning skill, acceleration, and finishing power will make her a natural leader.
Her arrival also strengthens the squad’s long-term ambitions. With a reliable finisher secured, Fenix-Deceuninck gains a sprinter capable of delivering wins at WorldTour level while also mentoring younger riders in the art of the lead-out. For Kool, the challenge will be adapting quickly to new team dynamics and making her mark in the closing months of the year.
If her career so far is any guide, the Dutch rider’s explosive kick and race-winning instinct mean it may not be long before she’s adding her first Fenix-Deceuninck victory to an already impressive palmarès.
