"I didn’t feel well and I said that the team could join dangerous breakaways" - Olav Kooij surprises himself with scintillating pace at BEMER Cyclassics 2024
Cycling
The 2024 BEMER Cyclassics brought an all-star list of the biggest names in sprinting to the start line in Hamburg. In the end, it was Team Visma | Lease a Bike's Olav Kooij who proved the quickest of the lot, powering to victory in the final sprint for the line.
“I didn’t know how I would feel today after that crash in the Renewi Tour,” the Dutch sprint star says after pausing his celebrations for his post-race interview. “I took it easy last week to recover as well as possible from that fall, but I did have some doubts.”
With Points Classification winners from the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France, Jonathan Milan and Biniam Girmay, coming second and third respectively, plus the likes of Jasper Philipsen and others a little further down, this must go down as one of the most impressive wins in Kooij's career so far.
"On the way I didn’t feel well and I said that the team could join dangerous breakaways. They kept motivating me to let me sprint. I tried to do that and look at it now. A nice surprise!” Kooij assesses of his triumph. “We turned in a good position for the last two kilometres, that was important. After that I followed the Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe train. Alexander Kristoff then came past with speed and made sure I could find a good wheel. After that it was all about pushing and luckily I was able to hold on until the finish.”
Results | BEMER Cyclassics 2024:
| 1 | Kooij Olav | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 400 | 03:39:49 |
| 2 | Milan Jonathan | Lidl-Trek | 320 | + 00 |
| 3 | Girmay Biniam | Intermarché-Wanty | 260 | + 00 |
| 4 | Meeus Jordi | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 220 | + 00 |
| 5 | Kristoff Alexander | Uno-X Mobility | 180 | + 00 |
| 6 | Zingle Axel | Cofidis | 140 | + 00 |
| 7 | Philipsen Jasper | Alpecin-Deceuninck | 120 | + 00 |
| 8 | Teunissen Mike | Intermarché-Wanty | 100 | + 00 |
| 9 | Trentin Matteo | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | 80 | + 00 |
| 10 | Oldani Stefano | Cofidis | 68 | + 00 |
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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🇩🇪 #BemerCyclassics Big win for 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝑵𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒅𝒐𝒓𝒑!🐆
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