20-year old Olav Kooij nearing first World Tour win: "We will go for it again tomorrow"

Jumbo-Visma have came to the UAE Tour with the ambition of getting Tom Dumoulin a strong overall classification, but also to provide young sprinter Olav Kooij an opportunity to test himself against world-class competition, to which he has responded perfectly.

“It's great to see that we went 100 percent for the stage again today. I was well dropped off by Tom Dumoulin and Timo Roosen. In the end I came up a little short for the win, but we are getting closer to the win every stage. We will go for it again tomorrow," Kooij said after the finish.

Last year Jumbo-Visma has introduced David Dekker to the top of the sprinting world as he won the points classification in this very same race. With Dylan Groenewegen's late departure, the young Dutch sprinter will get more freedom this year than initially expected.

With Wout van Aert and David Dekker absent, the 20-year old has taken the opportunity to lead the team in the flat stages where he has finished eighth, fourth and today second behind Jasper Philipsen. Tomorrow he will have another opportunity to take what would be his first World Tour win, after wins as an 18 and 19-year old at the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali and Cro Race.