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