“In the end I stayed patient” - Olav Kooij gets Tour of Britain revenge on Tim Merlier with perfectly timed Beverley sprint
Cycling
Olav Kooij turned the tables on Tim Merlier at the 2026 Tour of Britain on Friday afternoon, timing his sprint perfectly in Beverley to claim Stage 3 victory after finishing second to the Belgian just 24 hours earlier.
Merlier had beaten Kooij convincingly in Skegness on Stage 2, but the Decathlon CMA CGM Team sprinter responded immediately.
After a finale in which Yorben Lauryssen and Tim Wellens were among those trying to prevent a bunch finish, Kooij stayed patient in the headwind before launching inside the final 150 metres.
The Dutchman powered clear to take the win ahead of Merlier, with Axel Kallberg producing a surprise ride to complete the podium. Timothy Dupont finished fourth and Matteo Moschetti fifth.
“Once I saw 150 I thought ‘now’s the time to go’”
For Kooij, waiting for the right moment proved crucial on the exposed finishing straight. “It’s always nice to get a win, especially after yesterday,” he said. “I wanted to try and do my sprint at the right moment, and especially with the headwind I had to really wait to find my way through and then open up. In the end I stayed patient, and once I saw 150 [metres to go] I thought ‘now’s the time to go’.”
Merlier entered the closing stages well positioned behind Soudal Quick-Step teammate Jasper Stuyven, but Kooij found the opening he needed before producing the stronger finishing burst.
Another Beverley win moves Kooij up all-time list
Beverley was already familiar territory for Kooij. He also won here during the 2023 Tour of Britain, and that previous experience gave him useful knowledge of the rapid approach to the final corner.
Asked whether it had helped this time around, he replied: “Quite well. Especially the run-in to the corner is really fast and I think we did it really well with the team. We managed really well in the wind, controlling at the end, and the boys brought me in to the final in a really perfect way.”
The victory was Kooij's eighth Tour of Britain stage win, moving him level with Edvald Boasson Hagen on the all-time list. Only Mark Cavendish, with ten, has now won more stages in the history of the race.
It also gave Decathlon CMA CGM Team their first victory of the 2026 edition and left Kooij and Merlier with one sprint win apiece after their back-to-back battles in Skegness and Beverley.
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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