Despite being beaten to the stage win by Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) again, Charlotte Kool (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) was in a good mood when she lined up for the post-race interview in Maldon after stage 2 of the RideLondon Classique.
Her runner-up spot was an improvement on the fifth place from stage 1 where she was held back by a slow puncture.
“Yesterday, I had a puncture in the last fifteen kilometres, we found out after the finish, that was not ideal. Today I felt really good. I'm really happy that everything worked today and I could do a good sprint. In the finish, I was a bit boxed in at one moment, but this is all I could do,” Kool said.
It was a fast stage on Saturday where no break was let go all day. With three ascents of North Hill in Little Baddow, Kool – a very fast sprinter, but not on the same level as Wiebes going uphill – had her work cut out for her.
Pfeiffer Georgi was most active in reeling back a number of attacks and she partnered with Franziska Koch to bring Kool into contention at the finish.
“They did really well. I knew I needed to pace the climb and then they were always around me and could help me come back. In the final, Franzi [Koch] and Pfeiffer [Georgi] really nailed it to get us in the best position possible, there was no moment I was in the red zone. And then I could just do my maximal effort up this climb,” explained Kool.
"I gave my everything after Franzi and Pfeiffer did a really strong lead-out on the punchy finish."
Across 142.6km of short and sharp hills in the English countryside, Team dsm-firmenich PostNL worked to hold position at the front of the peloton, but still endured a number of crashes. Megan Jastrab stepped off the bike after one of the spills and had to withdraw.
After a fifth and a second place, Kool now looks forward to stage 3 in London, finishing on The Mall. She won the stage last year, though without Wiebes in the race, and has yet to beat her rival in a sprint this season. Nonetheless, Kool is optimistic about her chances.
“I think the last day will fit me the best. So hopefully tomorrow we can now go for the win again,” she finished.
