"It was close, but luckily I had the legs to pass him" - Olav Kooij on defeating Jasper Philipsen in Tour of Denmark

Olav Kooij won the first stage of the Tour of Denmark. His impressive sprint at the last moment against Jasper Philipsen helped him take the gold.

Kooij explains it was his plan from the start to go for victory, which the rider fulfilled. "The goal was to win a stage, and if it works right away at the first chance, that's great," said Kooij. The first stage saw a battle between  Kooij and Philipsen to finish the cross line. "It was a hectic sprint and the headwind made it extra difficult. In the end, I ended up in Philipsen's wheel and saw the line coming closer quickly. It was close, but luckily I had the legs to pass him."

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Olav Kooij beats Jasper Philipsen to secure victory in first stage of Tour of Denmark

Kooij could not manage his start of the sprint, it was his teammate Christophe who helped him position for the sprint ."We knew we needed enough manpower on the last straight to finish it. We had to shift gears and freestyle a bit and luckily it worked out well. Christophe has already shown in the Tour how good he is at this job It's great to have someone like that as a lead-out," said  Kooij.

He reveals his end goal is not GC, but the rider wants the yellow jersey to stay in the team. "It would be nice if the jersey stays in the team. Tomorrow there is a time trial on the program, and then it is up to the other men to do a good thing," concluded Kooij.

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