Charlotte Kool delivered a confident uphill sprint to win the opening road stage of the Baloise Ladies Tour, powering to victory on De Wandelaar in Knokke-Heist and seizing the race lead from Zoe Bäckstedt. It was Kool’s first win of the 2025 season and a reminder of her finishing speed on an arrival that demanded both positioning and power.
Solo attack and controlled chase
After Bäckstedt had opened the race with a prologue victory in Yerseke, the peloton crossed the border into Belgium for stage 1 – a flat 127.2 kilometre route from Jabbeke to Knokke-Heist. With a long, straight run-in and a short rise to the finish, a sprint was the likely outcome from the outset, especially as Picnic PostNL had made it clear they were riding for Kool.
Early in the stage, Kate Seiler of Carbonbike Giordana by Gen Z went clear on her own. The American rider managed to carve out a lead of around two minutes, but without any company up front and with little interest in letting the move gain traction, the peloton calmly reeled her back in just after halfway. Picnic PostNL assumed responsibility early on, keeping Seiler’s gap under control without needing outside help.
Once the solo break was caught, there were a flurry of short-lived attacks as riders sensed a lull in the pace. None of them gained more than a few seconds, and by the final hour of racing, the bunch was fully committed to a sprint.
Final approach into Knokke-Heist
The finish in Knokke-Heist mirrored the men’s Baloise Belgium Tour finale, using the slight rise of De Wandelaar on the town’s beachfront. A cobbled sector earlier in the stage had done little to dent the group, with all the main contenders still present and waiting for the sprint.
With around 10 kilometres to go, Visma – Lease a Bike were the first to make a serious move towards the front. Riding for Nienke Veenhoven, they stacked numbers on the right side of the road and carried momentum through the twisting approach to Knokke. Canyon SRAM were also visible, with Bäckstedt and Nastya Kolesava working to keep Chiara Consonni in position.
For Picnic PostNL, it looked like a late show. Kool’s teammates had been anonymous until the red kite, but then emerged with textbook timing. Franziska Koch led the charge into the final 800 metres, moving up swiftly along the left before swinging off with 250 metres to go.
Kool launched her sprint from the centre-right of the road just as Koch dropped away. Consonni had followed closely on her wheel but became momentarily boxed in by Koch’s presence on her left and the barriers on her right. By the time the road tilted up in the final 50 metres, Consonni finally found space and kicked hard, but Kool had already built a half-bike length that held to the line.
Rider reactions
Speaking after the stage, Kool said:
“Especially after such good teamwork, it’s great to get that first win on the board. We were quite far back in the sprint, but we’d already burned matches to keep things together. We were just three riders, and Franziska did a phenomenal job – that was really something else.”
She acknowledged the margin of victory wasn’t quite what she’d hoped for:
“I think I still need to be a bit better, but we’re definitely on the right track. Hopefully this week we can fine-tune everything. I’d have liked to win with a bit more of a margin – I only saw Chiara coming up right at the last second, which was a bit of a scare. But overall, I think we had it under control.”
Consonni, who came close to her first win in Canyon SRAM colours, admitted she may have waited too long.
“I think I was in a really good position behind Kool, but then I was a bit blocked from the Picnic PostNL rider and I think I started the sprint too late. Maybe I was supposed to start earlier, but I’m still happy with my second place.”
She praised her team’s efforts throughout the stage:
“Of course, we tried to keep the race closed and I think the girls did a really good job. And then, it’s not easy to do a lead-out, but they really put me in the best position to do my sprint. I don’t have to be afraid to start my sprint early because I’m in good condition after the Giro, so we are really looking forward to the next stages.”
Third-placed Veenhoven was satisfied with her result and the team’s cohesion in the finale.
“I have a good feeling about this sprint. As a team we rode a good final. From the last local lap, we were where we wanted to be. From there I only had to follow the wheels of the ladies. That was super nice.”
Classification updates
Thanks to the 10 bonus seconds awarded for her win, Kool now leads the general classification. She overtakes Bäckstedt, who drops to second overall, eight seconds behind. Consonni also moves up to second in the points classification. Bäckstedt retains the white jersey as best young rider, with a four-second lead over Marie Schreiber of SD Worx.
Tomorrow’s second stage, which starts and finishes in Olsene, includes more climbing than today but is still expected to end in a bunch finish. The final 55 kilometres consist of multiple laps on a flat circuit, and unless crosswinds surprise, another sprint looks likely.
2025 Baloise Ladies Tour Stage 1 result
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Main photo credit: Gaetan Sportpic
