Olav Kooij survives echelon chaos to take stage 2 win at Renewi Tour 2025

Team Visma | Lease a Bike's Olav Kooij has taken the win on a chaotic and echelon-affected day at the 2025 Renewi Tour, dominating a messy bunch sprint finish.

The stage began at a furious pace, with the peloton rolling out over 172 kilometres of racing. The day’s first move came when Giosuè Epis, Siebe Deweirdt and Axandre van Petegem managed to forge clear, opening up a lead of just over 30 seconds.

Their effort was short-lived, however, as the peloton – riding at a blistering average speed of around 46km/h – reeled them back in with 81 kilometres still to race. For a time, the bunch remained together, but the tempo never eased.

By the time the stage was nearing 50 kilometres to go, the race had split dramatically. A front group of around 34 riders pulled clear, leaving a number of big names, including Tim Wellens and Mathieu van der Poel, caught on the wrong side of the divide. Although the gap between the two echelons wasn't extending any further than around 30 seconds, it also wasn't closing either.

As the lead group looked to press home its advantage however, a crash then rocked the group with around 37km to go, bringing down Mathias Vacek, Mick van Dijke, Fred Wright and others. That crash somewhat took the sting out of the move and with 33km to go, the peloton's split had been sewn back up by the chasers.

That was far from the end of the drama though. Perhaps looking to prove a point after missing out previously, Van der Poel and Wellens were both right at the front this time, causing chaos behind. By the time the race entered the final 5km of the day though, things had calmed down once again, ready for the imminent sprint finale.

In that sprint for the line it was then Olav Kooij who emerged victorious in a messy finale, taking the win clearly ahead of Pavel Bittner.