Olav Kooij was hoping for grand tour debut "but unfortunately it won't be the case"

With 12 victories under his belt, Olav Kooij had a fantastic season last year. However, despite his impressive track record, he has not been able to participate in a grand tour yet, and it seems that he won't be able to do so this year either.

Earlier this month, the Dutch sprinter started his season at Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, where he won a silver medal in the first stage. However, he was unable to maintain his performance in the following stages. At the UAE Tour, he earned a silver medal in the fourth stage but finished in 119th place in the overall classification.

Although he has promising potential, his team is still not ready to take him to the grand tours, at least not at this point. "I was hoping to be able to make my debut on a Grand Tour this season, but unfortunately it won't be the case. So I'm still quite disappointed,” he told De Telegraaf.

He made it clear that he understands his team's decisions, he feels loyal to the team. They were the ones who gave him the opportunity to succeed in a professional context. “I understand the choice of the team who want to focus on the rankings generals. But it's still hard to hear,” concluded Kooij.