"Last year, they won all three but this year, it might be a bit different" - Olav Kooij eyes Grand Tour debut at Giro d'Italia

With three stage wins to his name already in 2024, Olav Kooij is undeniably more than ready to take his already successful record from last year and push his luck even further. Where better than at a grand tour debut? Such opportunity will present itself to the 22-year-old sprinter at Giro d'Italia where he'll be one of Visma | Lease a Bike's main cards, alongside his teammate Wout Van Aert.

"I’m definitely feeling more and more excitement," Kooij told Velo recently. "Now that we started racing, we just focus on the races we do now. But it’s definitely something to look forward to in May."

"I think Paris-Nice was a big highlight. I made a big goal of that," he said. "So to win a stage there was really nice. And so too was being on high level throughout the year. Winning throughout the whole season was also what I was aiming for. So yeah, that was something I was happy with. Besides that, I also had some nice results and good feelings in Europeans and Wevelgem and nationals, on a bit of a harder course."

"The team is used to race grand tours with a real GC top favorite," Kooij said, explaining the likely tactics. "Last year, they won all three but this year, it might be a bit different. I think we will just look to every stage as an opportunity and try to just make a good plan and see who’s more favorable for the stage. I think we’ll do that day by day, just trying to go for stage wins."