Dutch rider Charlotte Kool wins on home soil to take first stage of Tour de France for women

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch rider Charlotte Kool won a mass sprint on home soil in the opening stage of the women’s Tour de France on Monday.

Kool, of the DSM-Firmenich PostNL team, will start Tuesday’s second stage in the leader’s yellow jersey after completing the 123 kilometers (76-mile) stage in two hours, 47 minutes and 40 seconds.

“It’s very special that everything fell into place,” she told Dutch broadcaster NOS. “This is the day I was hoping for.”

Anniina Ahtosalo of Finland was second and Elisa Balsamo of Italy finished third in the same time as Kool.

Last year’s race winner Demi Vollering of the SD Worx team finished back in 35th spot, three places ahead of Olympic road race champion Kristen Faulkner. Both riders also registered the same time as Kool.

Vollering’s teammate Lorena Wiebes had been one of the favorites to win a sprint finish, but her bike’s chain fell off within sight of the end and she dropped out of contention.

The stage took riders over flat countryside between the port city of Rotterdam to a North Sea beachside finishing line in a southern suburb of The Hague, amid hot summer temperatures. Thousands of spectators lined the streets of the two cities to watch.

The eight-stage race crosses into cycling-crazy Belgium and then heads south through eastern France to finish Aug. 18 on the punishing climb of the Alpe-d’Huez’s famous 21 hairpin bends.

Tuesday sees two stages, a dash of just under 70 kilometers from Dordrecht to Rotterdam followed by a 6.3-kilometer individual time trial through the port city.

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