"That crash was his own fault" - Olav Kooij shown no sympathy after collarbone fracture at Gent Wevelgem

Olav Kooij has been one of the bright sparks of Team Visma | Lease a Bike in early 2025 so far. The Dutch sprint prodigy has already added three wins to his palmares, including a prestigious stage of Tirreno-Adriatico. Currently though, Kooij is out of action with a fractured collarbone after a nasty crash at Gent Wevelgem last weekend.

The crash at Gent Wevelgem was made even worse for Kooij by the fact he was looking incredibly strong in the moments prior. The 23-year-old had been one of the only riders able to follow Mads Pedersen's eventually race-winning attack before things was disastrously wrong moments later. Post-race, Team Visma | Lease a Bike's sports director Arthur van Dongen admitted the crash of Kooij came as a big blow to the team. "Olav followed Pedersen’s attack, but shortly after, he misjudged a corner. The race could have played out differently," he lamented in a team press release. "With Victor Campenaerts up front and Olav on Pedersen’s wheel, we would have had a perfect situation. But that’s cycling, unfortunately.”

According to Sporza expert and Israel - Premier Tech sports director Sep Vanmarcke however, Kooij has no one to blame but himself for the crash, with the Belgian giving the Dutch youngster little sympathy. "I don't want to be too harsh, but that crash was his own fault," reflected Vanmarcke in his post-race analysis for the Belgian broadcasters. "We recce'd the course on Saturday, and we already said to stay calm in that corner. As a rider, you need to know that, and in that case, it's a bit your own fault."

Despite talk of that particular section being removed because of a number of crashes this year, Vanmarcke's co-analyst on Sporza, Greg van Avermaet insists the challenge of avoiding a crash is part of the spectacle of Gent Wevelgem.

"For me, they can keep the section in the course. I've always been a fan of it. It's technical and tough, and Mads makes the difference there," explains the Olympic gold medal winning Belgian. "I attribute Kooij's crash to a lack of course knowledge. I can still picture that corner. You carry speed into it, and it's slippery. You need to be clear-headed, even when you're pushing yourself. But you have to give it a bit of space and approach it without taking too many risks. I know a lot of people will criticize now, but I think it's a fun section that is part of this race."