Charlotte Kool

Charlotte made her debut with Team Picnic PostNL in 2022, progressing well as a rider, and a year later she stepped up from key lead-out member to the main sprint finisher of the team, resulting in a brilliant number of no fewer than 13 victories in the 2023 season.

Cycling wasn’t the Dutchwoman’s first love and instead she preferred two blades to two wheels, competing in speed skating to quite a high level. As she progressed and took speed skating more seriously, Charlotte dusted off her bike and used that initially as training during the summer. However, after joining a local club she entered a few races and fell in love – eventually making the choice to fully focus on cycling; something that was “the best decision of her life.”

Reflecting on that 2022 campaign, Charlotte says that it was “way above expectations” but it didn’t feel like that during the year as once she reached new successes and heights; she was always looking at that next step. Chasing those new successes and chances saw her fulfil the role of finisher on several occasions, but the charismatic Charlotte was quick to also highlight the achievements of her teammates too – something that really stands out and shows how close the team is.

“I try to motivate the girls; I really believe that we win as a team. I don’t like to win on my own, that’s not nice, the most beautiful thing is to win together. I want to show that it is Team Picnic PostNL that wins, and not just the person who crosses the line first. We’re just a nice group of teammates and friends who are strong and committed to each other.”

With an attitude like that then it’s no surprise then that Charlotte’s best day on the bike in 2022 wasn’t one of her wins at GP Eco Struct or the Simac Ladies Tour but her ride at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. Her role that day was to support the team for as long as possible, positioning everyone into the cobbles and onto the early hills. As it was only her second race with the team, Charlotte says there was no internal pressure from everyone and that she simply had to “do the best she could” – and that she did: “I could do my job, drop, then I fought back to help out again.”

Keeping up that go-getter attitude and putting in the hard yards during the off-season, a rip-roaring 2023 started with a bang and continued like that throughout; with Charlotte taking a wins as the team’s finisher at some of the biggest races on the calendar; such as the Vuelta a España and RideLondon Classique. Those results have only given Charlotte more confidence as she aims to take even more steps in 2024 and show that “we are the best sprint team in the peloton.” 2024 was a proverbial year of two halves for Charlotte. Despite consistently achieving good results, she didn’t hit the same peak in the opening part of the year as she had done in 2023. However, that changed in the summer when she sprinted to two memorable stage victories on home soil in Rotterdam during the opening days of the Tour de France Femmes, wearing the famous yellow jersey for two days in the process; something that will live long in her and the team’s memory.

Bubbly and talkative, Charlotte describes herself as a “secure” person who is confident in who she is; alongside being very “motivated” in that she always gives her best and wants to be as good as she can at whatever it is she is doing.

Away from cycling you can find Charlotte catching up on the latest episode of Bridgerton, dusting off her skates for a family day out in the off-season, or admiring historic architecture and pursuing her passion for engineering.­­­