Twenty-four hours after Harrie Lavreysen confirmed himself as the fastest sprinter in the Olympic velodrome, his compatriot Charlotte Kool continued the winning streak for the Netherlands, sprinting to victory in stage one of the Tour de France Femmes in The Hague.
In what was expected to be a three-way battle between the Dutch trio of Kool, Marianne Vos and Lorena Wiebes, Kool easily proved the fastest, taking both Vos, of Visma-Lease a bike, and SD Worx Protime's Wiebes by surprise to claim the first yellow jersey of this year's race. In a disorganised sprint, in which a mechanical issue put Wiebes on the back foot, Kool came across the line ahead of Uno-X Mobility's Anniina Ahtosalo and Elisa Balsamo of Lidl-Trek.
"It's the best day of my life," Kool, riding for dsm-firmenich PostNL, said after the stage. But while the 25-year-old rider was enjoying the first day of racing in the week-long Tour, others, despite the flat nature of the course, were not.
This story is from the August 13, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the August 13, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Scientists develop 'vaccine' to protect bees from pesticides
Scientists have developed a \"vaccine\" for bees against pesticides - and it appears to work, according to an initial study.
Jewish Chronicle IDF inquiry into claims of stories planted for disinformation campaign
The Israel Defense Forces have launched an investigation into allegations in the Israeli media that the London-based Jewish Chronicle published stories based on \"fabricated intelligence\" relating to Hamas, amid claims they may have been planted as part of a disinformation campaign.
'He is far away in Saudi' Ten Hag brushes off Ronaldo's attack over lack of ambition
Erik ten Hag has hit back at Cristiano Ronaldo by pointing out that the Portuguese admitted Manchester United are not well placed to win the biggest trophies this season despite criticising the manager for stating the same.
So much about the Ballon d'Or suggests that it does not care about women's football
The release of the Ballon d'Or shortlists naturally focused on the absence of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo from the men's top 30 for the first time in 21 years, yet the real glaring omissions were to be found among the awards ceremony's token efforts regarding women's football.
Vaughan and Leach shock Surrey to set up title chase
The County Championship title race has been blown wide open after Somerset snatched a dramatic victory over the leaders, Surrey, with a couple of minutes to spare at Taunton, the champions' stout defensive rearguard toppled after they collapsed from 95 for three to 109 all out in a final hour overflowing with tension.
Pettersen backs Hull to light up the course
But captain causes a surprise by omitting Solheim Cup specialist Maguire from today's opening foursomes
Stellantis halts production of Fiat 500 EV for four weeks due to slowdown in European sales
Stellantis said yesterday it would halt production of the electric Fiat 500 model for four weeks owing to a lack of orders in Europe.
Grangemouth oil refinery to shut and become fuel import terminal with 500 jobs at risk
The owners of the Grangemouth oil refinery confirmed yesterday it would shut by the end of June in a blow to Scotland's industrial base and the site's 500 employees.
Refugees Spanish FC leads town's welcome
They filed on to the football pitch as applause rang out, punctuated by shouts of bienvenidos.
Harris heads to swing states buoyed by debate performance
Kamala Harris embarked on a drive to exploit her strong debate performance yesterday, as the Democratic presidential nominee's campaign pledged to intensify efforts to persuade voters in battleground states deemed essential to winning the White House.
