Veenhoven, who had won the first stage yesterday, had another chance of success in the second stage of the Belgian stage race. Her teammates had helped ensure that the breakaway riders were caught, setting the stage for a sprint for the stage victory.

Veenhoven made a strong push in the final meters, but had to concede defeat to Kool on the streets of Zulte. "I’m a little bit disappointed. I rode a good sprint, but I had to come from a little too far back. That meant I was just a bit too late", Veenhoven said.

"I think we rode very attentively as a team in the tricky hilly section. On the local laps, the girls did a great job of bringing the breakaway back. In the final kilometer, I found myself on my own and had to find a way through the teams. In hindsight, I gambled on the wrong team for the lead-out. That was a mistake."

After three days of racing, Veenhoven is in third place in the general classification. Tomorrow will be a double-header, featuring a time trial and a road stage. "I didn’t come here with any ambitions for the general classification. Above all, I want to put in some good sprints and achieve good results. I managed to do that both yesterday and today. There are still two more opportunities. Tomorrow I want to go all out in the time trial and see what I can achieve. After that, we’ll see where we stand."