Big blow for Decathlon: Star signing Olav Kooij sees debut delayed indefinitely by mystery virus

Decathlon CMA CGM Team expected their biggest new signing to front a fresh sprint project in the opening weeks of the season. Instead, Olav Kooij is stuck watching from the sidelines, ruled out for an unknown length of time by an illness that doctors are still not publicly identifying.

What was meant to be the first glimpse of Kooij in Decathlon colours has already been cancelled. A scheduled media appearance with his new team was pulled, and his early-season race plans are now in doubt. For a team that has built much of its winter narrative around a new sprint unit, the timing could hardly be worse.

According to WielerFlits, the team confirmed that Kooij has been forced to pause his build-up after falling ill. A spokesperson for Decathlon CMA CGM said in conversation with WielerFlits: “The Dutch rider has picked up a virus, which means his debut in his new colours has been postponed.”

That single sentence carries a lot of uncertainty. There is no public timeline. There is no name for the illness. There is only the reality that Decathlon’s marquee signing will not start his season as planned.

Behind the scenes, the priority has shifted fully from racing to recovery. Kooij is currently under strict instructions to rest, with the team making it clear that nothing will be rushed.

The same spokesperson explained that the focus is now entirely on getting him healthy again: “In consultation with his coach and the team’s medical staff, Olav has drawn up an extensive recovery protocol to restore his full physical capacity as quickly as possible.”

For now, that means complete rest. How long that phase will last is unknown, and the team has not said which virus Kooij is dealing with. Even races that had been pencilled in as early targets are now in question, with Decathlon saying further updates will follow once doctors have a clearer picture.

The delay matters because of what Kooij represents to this project. He did not move to Decathlon simply to be another fast finisher. He moved as the centrepiece of a rebuilt sprint operation, bringing familiar lead-out figures with him and becoming the rider around whom the team planned to shape its flat-race ambitions.

That is why this feels like more than a routine illness update. It is a pause button being hit on a strategy that was supposed to start delivering immediately.

For now, Decathlon can only wait. Their star signing is sidelined, his debut in new colours pushed into an uncertain future, and the “mystery virus” hanging over the start of his season with no clear answer yet as to when that story will move on from delay to debut.