Team Visma | Lease a Bike lose Olav Kooij at the Renewi Tour after mid-stage crash

The Renewi Tour saw the victory of Jonathan Milan in it's first stage but perhaps most notable was the crash of Tim Merlier and Dylan Groenewegen at the very finish line. Groenewegen sustained a collarbone fracture however he was not the only Dutch sprinter to leave the race. Olav Kooij will not start stage 2 as an effect of a different crash.

"Olav Kooij won't start in the second stage of the Renewi Tour today due to injuries sustained from yesterday’s crash. Get well soon, Olav!" the Dutch team wrote in a message shared on social media.

The Dutchman was involved in a crash with 15 kilometers to go on the opening day of the Belgian race and, together with several other riders, hit the deck. He did not sustain fractures however was badly hurt and was the last rider to cross the finish line - over 15 minutes after the stage winner.

Kooij had recently won two stages at the Tour de Pologne and was using the Renewi Tour as a very important step towards the European Championships where he finished on the podium last year together with teammates Christophe Laporte and Wout van Aert.