"I hope to reward it with a stage win" - Olav Kooij hoping to win in Pologne as he leads Jumbo-Visma's ambitions
Cycling
Jumbo-Visma, away from the spotlight of the Tour de France and it's major stars now, return to the secondary calendar where they will be chasing stage wins at the Tour de Pologne this week, with it's main card being young talent Olav Kooij.
"It's going very well this season. But that certainly doesn't mean that I am saturated as far as the current calendar year is concerned," Kooij said in a press release from the team anticipating the Polish race. "After the Dutch championships, I deliberately took a short rest period. Subsequently, I prepared myself for the last block of the season. This period now lasted long enough. I feel like racing and can't wait to get involved in the battle for the day's victories".
Kooij, just 20 years old, is in his second year with the team and has become a world-class sprinter in the meantime, having taken six stage wins aswell as two overall classifications - at the Circuit Cycliste Sarthe and the ZLM Tour - in the meanwhile. He's having his freedom in the Dutch team, away from it's main blocks, and will be looking to add to his tally this week as he will face the likes of Arnaud Démare and Mark Cavendish in the sprints.
Today's opening stage to Lublin will be a good opportunity, however the sprinter-friendly race will provide several opportunities for the fast men to succed. "I want to go for stage victories in the stages that end in a bunch sprint. I estimate that this applies to three stages. Maybe there will be four, but some stages have a vicious ending," he explained.
"I feel the team has a lot of confidence in me and I hope to reward it with a stage win somewhere in the coming stages. The Tour of Poland will be successful for me if I succeed at that," he concluded.
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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- I had no idea about that either.
santiagobenites10-11-2026 - great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
- I think some are making much ado about nothing. Even though Jonas is getting older, before his crash in the Tour, he looked like a solid 2nd all the way home. No one can really climb with Tadej until this year, Eric Mas showed himself which I think was a one off year for him and Paul Seixas has been able to be pretty close to him. Whatever stage race Jonas enters as long as Tadej is not there he is a favorite to win.awp10-11-2026
- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
- Me too!!!!!Occam10-11-2026
- they can sign any 100 of top riders today but Pogi will win over Remco any time at the TDF unless something goes wrongabstractengineer10-11-2026
- the time for a GC rider to retire is when they cannot win stages, or have a significant level drop like from winner/podium into top 5/10 consistently. Roglic is still competitive and Froome raced even though he became pack fodder.abstractengineer10-11-2026
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🇵🇱 #TdP22 Enjoying the ride so far. 😄
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