"I had goosebumps when they told me Mathieu won" - Olav Kooij excited to be part of the lineup that won rainbow jersey

Olav Kooij was the sprint alternative of the Dutch formation in advance, but could not follow the strongest towards the final. Kooij tells Wielerflits that he had goosebumps when people told him that Mathieu Van der Poel claimed the rainbow jersey.

At the moment that Van der Poel conquered his title, Kooij was rolling in the last group of remaining riders. The public had to inform him of his compatriot's performance. "At one point I heard from all the Dutch fans on the side that he went clear. I tried to see something on the screens, but the people on the side kept me informed."

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Van der Poel is the successor to Joop Zoetemelk with his world title after 38 years. According to Kooij, this was also felt within the team, "Yesterday in the meeting, it was clear how long it had been since the Netherlands had a world champion with Zoetemelk. That shows how special this is. Phenomenal that he finishes it like this."

Kooij is realistic about his own race. "In the end, the pace was set so high that the best came to the top. It was mainly the intention that I had to take my position at the beginning of the laps and react when there was an attack. It just became a really tight pace and then it broke apart. My legs also stopped and then there is little that can be done."

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