‘I could breathe again’ – Charlotte Kool solved mystery respiratory issues just two weeks before Tour de France Femmes triumph

Just two weeks before taking the first stage and with it yellow jersey at the 2024 Tour de France Femmes, Charlotte Kool (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) was struggling to breathe properly at high intensity, despite “doing everything right” in training, only finding the solution thanks to specialists at the last gasp. 

Kool struggled to explain the technical issue that was hampering her, gesturing simply to her chest and stating that “this part was a bit stuck and I couldn’t really breathe through” before going to a professional, who “actually made it all loose and I could feel immediately like I could breathe again, literally.”