Charlotte Kool has won the third stage of the Baloise Belgium Tour. The 22-year old Dutch rider finished off the work by Ilse Pluimers, Emily Wadsworth and Julia Borgström.
Ilse and Julia did an amazing job in delivering me in the right place at the right time. I didn’t expect to win so easily today. Yesterday I already felt good which was great because it’s been a hard time for me. I got COVID-19 and for a long time I couldn’t do a lot in training. Since three weeks I finally feel better and this is my first race back. I am so happy that COVID is now finally behind me. I didn’t expect much from my first race back so this is so amazing. This win is the best birthday present I could give my dad.
Sports directorWim Stroetinga saw the team execute the pre-race plan perfectly.
It was a great sprint by Charlotte and the team. We had already discussed before the race which wheels to follow and which side of the road to chose. Charlotte saw she had to follow the Italians and sprinted right on time. A really great victory!
The Baloise Belgium Tour started well on Thursday with an 18th place for Britt Knaven. She was awarded the jersey for best Belgian rider but unfortunately crashed out on the first stage. Luckily Britt didn’t sustain any fractures but we the team doctor will monitor her.
The Baloise Belgium Tour continues on Saturday with a time trial on Saturday and another flat stage on Sunday. A livestream of the race can be found on the race website and summaries on Sporza and Eurosport.
Photo: Bastien Gasson