Charlotte Kool sprints to victory at GP Eco-Struct
'The team really believed in me and did everything they could to get me in a good position,' says Team DSM rider.
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Team DSM enjoyed a near-perfect day out at the GP Eco-Struct as Charlotte Kool took victory from a bunch sprint while her teammate Lorena Wiebes finished third.
Kool’s win made it three consecutive wins at the race for her team, following Wiebes’ back-to-back victories in 2020 and 2021.
Rachele Barbieri (Liv Racing Xstra) was sandwiched in between the two DSM riders in second place.
“I am really happy with this win after the team gave me this opportunity today,” Kool said at the finish, according to her team.
“The team really believed in me and did everything they could to get me in a good position so I could finish it off in the sprint. I’m so happy to have been able to do that for them.”
Also read: Lorena Wiebes dreams of winning Paris-Roubaix
On GP Eco-Struct’s flat 136.4km course, a bunch sprint seemed likely and Team DSM controlled proceedings to ensure that this would be the case.
The peloton remained intact for the first 25km of the race before a nine-person group containing Wiebes, Franziska Koch (Team DSM) Valerie Demey (Liv Racing Xstra), Aniek van Alphen (Plantur-Pura), Eluned King (Le Col-Wahoo), Dominika Wlodarczyk (ATOM Deweloper Posciellux), Eline Van Rooijen (AG Insurance-NXTG), Nienke Wasmum (Proximus-Alphamotorhomes-Doltcini) and Susanne Meistrok (Proximus-Alphamotorhomes-Doltcini) escaped.
With Wiebes and Koch in the breakaway, it was doomed from the beginning and it established a small lead that reached a maximum of 30 seconds before it was caught with about 55km still to race.
Although the pace remained high, Julie Sap (Keukens Redant) launched her own attack and the peloton was content to let this gap balloon to just over a minute. Team DSM through Esmée Peperkamp moved to the front, controlled the pace and steadied themselves for the leadout.
Then, just before the race passed under the 3km to go mark, Sap was caught and the leadout began in earnest.
Rider after rider peeled off for Team DSM, leaving Wiebes to be the final launchpad for Kool who held off Barbieri’s challenge to take her first win for the team.
