Milano-Sanremo and Giro d'Italia - Olav Kooij still not racing Tour de France in 2025 but dreams of big victories in Italy
Cycling
Olav Kooij is a brilliant sprinter and this season he really battled to become one of the very best. Victories at the Giro d'Italia, Paris-Nice, UAE Tour and BEMER Cyclassics, alongside a second place at the European Championships are just some of the Dutchman's successes this past year. In 2025, he aims for a similar schedule.
With Team Visma | Lease a Bike putting their efforts into trying to win the Tour de France, it doesn't really come as a surprise, but it is now known via Wielerflits that the 23-year old will not be racing the French Grand Tour in what is the final year of his contract. His goals remain largely the same as this year with little changes, except for the start of his season which will now come much later. Kooij should start his season at Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne.
From there on he will travel to Italy where he will race Tirreno-Adriatico in search of stage wins but also for his best form into Milano-Sanremo. The Visma rider should be the leader in the first monument of the season as Wout van Aert will be absent, and he was 14th this year - second in the group that followed the winning the group.
Kooij will be in the Belgian spring classics but only race those well suited to the sprinters, being the Classic Brugge - De Panne and then Gent Wevelgem where he was sixth last year. Then, as was also the case previously, he will train and prepare for the Giro d'Italia where he will be a contender to take stage wins and also the points classification - with the support of Wout van Aert as a leadout man with certainty, to execute the plan that had been planned for 2024 but the Belgian's injuries prevented him from doing so.
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - He is boring
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parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
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