Olav Kooij is one of the best sprinters in the peloton but in Team Visma | Lease a Bike there is a limit to how many calendar choices he has. By this, we refer to the Tour de France where he is still unlikely to race, but he believes he's in the right team and that there is focus on supporting his sprinting ambitions.
Talking to Cyclingnews at Rouleur Live, Kooij said that a Tour de France debut in 2025 is not too likely: "Oh, I have no idea. I think it's maybe not the most likely. But I think it's probably up there in the talks of how we want to go to the Tour with the team, and how we want to do the other Grand Tours. Knowing the team, they will look into all possibilities and see, in the end, what they think is the best".
This year he made his debut at the Giro d'Italia, and he has won. What he will race next year is still unknown: "In the next few weeks or December camp, we will talk about the race program and see what our goals are and how we want to go and attack the season."
Likely Milano-Sanremo, a few spring classics, but overall success during the classics and stage-races to bring in more victories to his already extensive palmarès of 36 wins at age 23. A Giro d'Italia return could very well be in the cards, and a Vuelta a España debut could also prove to be very profitable for a sprinter who can handle the hills very well.
"I'm most of all just focusing on next year and going into the Spring in good shape already. And then bringing it into a Grand Tour. Then of course I also have to think about what I want in the future and what's the best place to be. But for now, I'm really, really happy with the team," he says.
Wout van Aert could be open for leadout duties in some races; Christophe Laporte, Edoardo Affini and Axel Zingle could also be valuable in several races for this role; but the team has put in a move in the market for British sprinter Dan McLay who thrived as a leadout for Arnaud Démare this year and could do the same for the Dutchman.
"I'm really excited, yes. Someone who I can also learn from his experience. I think a big part of being a good lead-out is the experience. It's not a job that's easy for young guys," Kooij is aware. "You see a lot of guys coming through but for this specific role, you really need this experience to make the right decisions at the right time. I look forward to starting working with him."
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
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