Negotiations between Visma and Olav Kooij are getting more detailed: "It can go both ways"

Olav Kooij spent the whole of his professional career at Visma | Lease a Bike, but now that his contract is running out, the Dutch sprinter finds himself at crossroads. He can stay in the team where he grew up and where he may never receive full support.. or move on to a team that will value a top sprinter he has become.

Sports director Grischa Niermann, who has been in charge of contract negotiations since the departure of Merijn Zeeman, does not want to hear anything about the sprinter leaving. "No, because we are still in talks with him and his agents. That can go both ways. Of course we are negotiating with Olav about a contract extension, but also about his sporting ambitions and possibilities," he says at WielerFlits.

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Key to Kooij's renewal will be whether the team can comply with supporting his ambitions in biggest races. "It is clear that he wants to go to the Tour de France," Niermann says. "We have to see if that fits into our schedule for the coming years. We are talking about that. We will see what comes of it."

There is no deadline, the German says when asked. "But at a certain point you have to move on. That also applies to Olav. We still have some time. Officially, the deadline is August 1. Let's wait and see."

Another possible factor in the decision to continue with Kooij is the rapid growth of super prospect Matthew Brennan. The 19-year-old Briton won four times this just this month, including a stunning upset in first stage of WorldTour race Volta a Catalunya.

"The best scenario for our team is that you have five or six riders who win ten times a year,” Niermann laughs. Obviously, two top sprinters are better than one. "That is also what we are going for, what we strive for. But you also have to have a balance in your team, also a balance in terms of opportunities. We have our ideas about that and we make decisions based on that. And sometimes you have to accept that riders see it differently.”

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