2025 Tour de France debut "not the most likely" for Olav Kooij

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."

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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.

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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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