"It is not yet as big as the men's, but it is going in that direction" - Charlotte Kool backs 2024 Tour de France Femmes to be best edition yet
Cycling
Women's cycling has been on a steeply upward trajectory in recent years. One of the clearest signs of the growing interest in the sport is the rise of the Tour de France Femmes, which in 2024, will depart from across the border in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
One of those Dutch riders hoping to impress on home roads at the start of the 2024 Tour de France Femmes, will be Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL's sprint star, Charlotte Kool. "It is super special", she says cheerfully on the website of the Grand Depart. "It says a lot about the development of the Tour that this is happening. It is not yet as big as the men's of course, but it is going in that direction and that is great. I hope that many people will be on the sidelines during the stages and I also expect that this will give women's cycling in our country a huge boost."
Although normally feared in the peloton as one of the fastest women on two wheels, Kool has been notable cooler in 2024, claiming just the one win, a stage of the recent Baloise Belgium Tour. "I couldn't really be happy with that victory, because I haven't been the best version of myself all season," she says honestly. "I haven't been riding badly all season and I'm in a good position - especially in tough races - in the finals, so I've really made progress this winter. I also felt really good in the preparation for this season. My values in training and competitions have improved, but I still haven't had a top feeling all year. And that irritates me."
“In a sprint you never know what will happen. And of course I hope that I can find the right feeling in the coming weeks. The Tour has been a very important goal for me for so long," the 25-year-old concludes. "You know: around the National Championships I really started to improve and I thought I was on the right track again, but now something strange is going on again, which I hope is something innocent and that it will go away with rest.”
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Where Merckx just rode every single race he could and won all the time, Hinault won less often (percentage wise) because he was more judicious in what he raced. His palmares are nuts. He had amazing rivals, one to start his career and another to end it in the grand tours. His classics were solid. What sets him apart from Merckx and Pogačar are that he basically dabbled in the classics while the other two love(d) them. I used to compare Pogačar to Hinault for his grand tour record and occasional classics win, until I realized that the comparison was wrong. Pogačar loves the classics - ah, the memory of his reaction to finishing fourth in a 2 person sprint in Flanders in ‘22: utter domination in any one day race since then, even when he doesn’t win. Hinault lived for the grand tours and I don’t think anyone else will ever reach his record. 10 wins in 13 attempts? Good lord. An amazing rider. Wish there was more footage to watch.RidesHills11-11-2026
- I had no idea about that either.
santiagobenites10-11-2026 - great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
- I think some are making much ado about nothing. Even though Jonas is getting older, before his crash in the Tour, he looked like a solid 2nd all the way home. No one can really climb with Tadej until this year, Eric Mas showed himself which I think was a one off year for him and Paul Seixas has been able to be pretty close to him. Whatever stage race Jonas enters as long as Tadej is not there he is a favorite to win.awp10-11-2026
- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
- Me too!!!!!Occam10-11-2026
- they can sign any 100 of top riders today but Pogi will win over Remco any time at the TDF unless something goes wrongabstractengineer10-11-2026
Loading
🤩 Si vous aimez le Tour de France... 💛 #TDFF2024 avec @GoZwift : on se voit dans 2 mois à Rotterdam ! 💛 #TDFF2024: ik zie je over 2 maanden in Rotterdam! 💛 #TDFF2024: see you in 2 months in Rotterdam! #WatchTheFemmes | @TDFFRotterdam
Write a comment