"It is nice to travel to Glasgow with this victory in our pocket” - Olav Kooij full of confidence after Tour de Pologne success

Olav Kooij was a brilliant winner from the stage 4 bunch sprint at the 2023 Tour de Pologne. As such, the 21-year-old Dutchman will be heading to the Glasgow World Championships high on confidence.

“It was a nervous day with quite a lot of wind,” Kooij tells Wielerflits in a post-stage interview. “In the beginning of the stage it broke for a while, but after that everyone was sharp and nothing happened. So we just went to a bunch sprint. I knew I had to be right up front there.”

Thankfully for the Jumbo-Visma sprinter, he was well-positioned in the finale, with none of his rivals being able to overcome Kooij once he had launched his sprint. “I started early myself. Fortunately, I was also strong enough to keep it," he analyses.

With the Glasgow World Championships quickly approaching, does Kooij consider himself a dark horse for victory? “I don't think this sprint says a lot about the World Cup. A mass sprint in Poland is something completely different from such a long and tough one-day race," he concludes. “I am especially happy with this victory in itself. This is a WorldTour race, so winning here is nice. Of course it is also good for confidence. It is nice to travel to Glasgow with this victory in our pocket.”