Charlotte Kool claims opening stage of Tour de France Femmes on home soil

Dutch rider Charlotte Kool of Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL clinched the opening stage of Tour de France Femmes, a 123-km ride from Rotterdam to The Hague in the Netherlands, to take the first yellow jersey of this year's edition.

Uno-X Mobility's Anniina Ahtosalo finished second ahead of Elisa Balsamo of Lidl-Trek, while Marianne Vos took the green jersey after winning the intermediate sprint at Groeneweg.

"It's unbelievable, it's a dream coming true. It was not an easy season, but this is where it is all about," Kool said.

"It was really hectic, but I like it.

So, I kept on thinking - I like hectic, I like chaos. I went so early and I thought it's too long and it hurt so bad, but it was enough in the end, so no words."

Several riders were snagged by a mass crash in the peloton with 69km to go, although none of them suffered severe injuries.

Stage two will be a 69.7km ride from Dordrecht to Rotterdam.