Olav Kooij: "It sucks to lose by such a small difference, but I don't regret anything"

Olav Kooij was close to his first win of the year at the UAE Tour today, but came up just a little short. It was a disappointing result for the Dutch sprinter, who nevertheless managed to climb into the lead of the points classification.

It was a very fast and furious sprint into Dubai today, where the catch was made late and the leadout battles were massive. "After that it was important to start the last corner in a good position, but also not too far forward because it was still relatively far to the finish. I think we executed the plan perfectly," Kooij said in a post-race interview.

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Kooij was on the right wheels towards the end as Fernando Gaviria launched his sprint, and made a bid for the line. This would've been the second World Tour win for the Jumbo-Visma rider, if only Juan Sebastián Molano hadn't stormed through in the final meters of the stage.

"It was very close. I knew Sam Welsford was on the right, but I didn't know Molano was there too. I didn't see him. I was able to do my sprint and I didn't make any mistakes. It sucks to lose by such a small difference, but I don't regret anything," he explained.

Nevertheless Kooij jumped into the lead of the points classification with 25, 1 point ahead of both Luke Plapp and Remco Evenepoel, and 3 ahead of the closes sprinter rival Tim Merlier.

Kooij will want to celebrate this achievement and keep the lead. Asked how he would like to do it, he answered: “By winning, of course. Hopefully Friday already."