"All I could ask for..." - Olav Kooij wins his first-ever Tour de France sprint in Pau
CyclingWednesday, 08 July 2026 at 19:21
Olav Kooij has started his pro career at Team Visma | Lease a Bike back in 2021, and had gathered 50 pro wins until the start of his Tour de France. It took him five years as a professional rider to finally make it to the start of his first ever Grand Boucle, and he has won his first sprint in the race.
“This is great; I am in the Tour for these days. To seize the opportunity right away, that is huge,” Kooij said in a post-race interview. “To be here in the Tour with the support of the team, that was all I could ask for. They did a great job".
Kooij arrived to the Tour with Cees Bol and Daan Hoole backing him up for the flat stages, but there were none in the opening four days of the race. The overall classification contenders took over the spotlight on the first three stages; whilst Mads Pedersen and Lidl-Trek ruled over the breakaway on stage 4 into Foix. Stage 5 was the actual first opportunity to strike gold for the Dutchman, who only began his season 41 days ago at the Boucles de la Mayenne.
The approach into Pau was very fast, and the big leadouts were nowhere to be seen. Timing was everything in a finale where a crash split the peloton to with just over 5 kilometers to go. Kooij was in the first group, but relied mostly on his sense of positioning to get into the right place.
"It was an easy day until the finale, so you know it’s going to get hectic. It is also the first sprint stage in the Tour, so everyone is fired up. I was able to find my way on my own, found the right wheel, and was able to sprint. When I saw the line, I went as hard as I could".
Kooij was the fastest on stage 5 of the 2026 Tour de France
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“I knew there were plenty of opportunities to shift gears and lose positions. I wanted to time my approach to that corner 1.1 kilometers from the finish line," Kooij said in words to NOS. "Then I saw that XDS Astana was going to lead out the sprint, and that was ideal".
The wheel of Max Kanter was, unexpectedly, the best in the peloton. The Kazakh team executed a perfect leadout and the likes of Jasper Philipsen, Tim Merlier and Mads Pedersen would not have the legs to go through the German rider. But directly on his wheel was Kooij, winner of a stage recently at the Baloise Belgium Tour.
It was the perfect scenario for the 24-year old, who had one of his most impressive sprints in order to take what is the biggest win of his already illustrious career. “In those last 200 meters, you just have to go. If you wait, they come from behind. But I was confident that my sprint was strong enough to just go for it myself. And that proved to be the case.”
Kooij only began his season in the final days of May, ruled out of the entire spring due to a virus. “At the beginning of the year, it didn't look like it, but I kept believing in it and grew to this level step by step". The decision to bring Kooij and Cees Bol was not an easy one, as it required reducing the support for Paul Seixas - something teammate Gregor Muhlberger did not take well.
"I am going to enjoy this, but we still have plenty of days to go and we will keep going. There will be more opportunities, but we have to get there first.”
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)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- and very interesting that the middle eastern rape gangs having their way in europe are ok with you but Trump is just too much for you.whkman08-07-2026
- how can you type and massage Pogacar's balls at the same time? impressive. should join a circus or somethingwhkman08-07-2026
- Chapeau Olav!
Rafionain-Glas08-07-2026 - Hey Andrew, why do you hate Pogi??? I mean really, tell the trurh: "Why do you hate POGI-TheGreatest Of All Time??? Now, don't lie to me. Capish?mus-musculuspeedypogigonzales08-07-2026
- Yeah, but it's still nicer to see Pogi win. POGI- The Greatest Of All Time !!!mus-musculuspeedypogigonzales08-07-2026
- Hope this fiasco doesn't backfire on Pogacar and the UAE Team.
PogiFan2Day08-07-2026 - That happens in 'democracies' all over the world.Hills3308-07-2026
- My point standsbruins3008-07-2026
- Not a lot of people know that.Cyclingsbestfan08-07-2026
- What a great stage to watch. Always good to see the breakaway win.
Andrew08-07-2026
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