"I couldn't go any faster, so I can't blame myself" - Charlotte Kool out of Tour de France Femmes after missing time cut on Tourmalet stage

The battle at the front of the Tour de France Femmes on stage 7 was incredibly exciting. For Charlotte Kool, battling a losing battle against the time cut however, it wasn't so enjoyable.

“I really suffered a lot, especially on the last climb. I couldn't go any faster, so I can't blame myself," Kool told NOS after finishing nearly 40 minutes behind stage winner, Demi Vollering. “You start the Tour to finish it. I gave it my all this week, I think it's a bit over now."

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Whilst it's true that a stage such as one finishing atop the Col du Tourmalet is not well suited to Kool, one of the fastest sprinters in the peloton, missing the time cut is always a disappointing way to leave a race.

"At ten kilometers I had to let the big group go and after that it was a lonely battle. At one point I heard that I had four minutes left, but I couldn't really do anything with that because I was already going as fast as possible," she says. "I just need to get a little stronger.”

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