"I'm pretty happy after yesterday's fall" - Olav Kooij takes 6th in first Grand Tour sprint of his career

In the first Grand Tour bunch sprint of his career, Team Visma | Lease a Bike's Olav Kooij took a creditable 6th placed finish. Enough for the Dutchman to remain optimistic.

“It was a quiet stage, but then there was that intermediate sprint. Suddenly the whole thing was split in two," the 22-year-old Dutchman reflected post-stage in conversation with Eurosport. “We raced really well there. I didn't talk much with the other sprinters, it was mainly just riding fast. Ultimately, it makes sense that we were caught again.”

After the sprinters' mid-stage attack was quashed by the peloton, Tadej Pogacar and Geraint Thomas then caused more chaos with an attack in the final few kilometres. "For me, it was really continuous rushing and standing still in the closing stages," Kooij recaps of his rude introduction to Grand Tour sprint stages.

"I wanted to start on the left, but there was no gap. Then I went to the right, but then suddenly I lost all my speed," he concludes, with Tim Merlier the man who eventually bagged the stage win. "But okay, I'm pretty happy after that fall yesterday. It wasn't perfect, but I experienced few problems today. Hopefully things will get back to normal in the next few days."