“There were moments when I doubted whether I would make it”: Olav Kooij ready for Tour de France debut after a difficult season

Olav Kooij will finally make his long-awaited Tour de France debut after overcoming a lengthy illness that threatened to derail his season. The Dutch sprinter, who shares leadership duties at Decathlon CMA CGM Team with Paul Seixas, admitted there were moments when he feared he would miss the race altogether.

Although Kooij is only days away from his first Tour de France, he insists the build-up has felt surprisingly normal despite the challenges he faced earlier this year.

“At the moment it actually feels exactly the same as preparing for any other race, to be honest. From the team presentation onwards we'll probably be more focused on it, but for now it's still quite relaxed,” he said in a recent interview.

His season was disrupted by a virus that kept him off the bike for an extended period and left his Tour participation in serious doubt. “I had a virus that kept me out for a very long time. I was extremely fatigued and simply couldn't train for a long period. There were moments when I doubted whether I would make the Tour, but I did everything I could to be ready. Fortunately, there was just enough time. I'm now pretty close to my top level.”

While Kooij returns to the Tour after a difficult comeback, teammate Paul Seixas arrives following a breakthrough campaign that makes him one of the contenders to fight for the yellow jersey despite being only 19. Kooij has been very impressed by the French youngster's rapid development.

“What Paul has shown this year is really super impressive. The way he has taken the next step after already showing his talent last year is remarkable for such a young guy. Everyone who follows cycling is curious to see what he can do at this Tour, and that includes me.”

Rather than viewing Seixas as competition, Kooij believes the shared leadership benefits the team. “A dual leadership seems like a good thing to me. Besides, I'm used to it from my time at Visma. There I also raced alongside strong general classification riders, such as at the Giro and other stage races. Personally, I think it's a nice dynamic.”

Kooij only received official confirmation of his Tour selection last week after the team monitored his recovery and progression. “I only officially heard last Friday that I was part of the Tour squad. The decision was made quite late. After missing the spring, I did everything I could to get back to my level. Until recently there were still quite a few question marks.”

Although his preparation was far from ideal, he is satisfied with his current condition. “When I was able to race again everyone was happy with my level, but we had to wait and see how I improved. The preparation may not have been perfect, but I'm at a level that's good enough.”

Before his illness, Kooij had hoped to challenge for the points classification, but those ambitions have now been shelved in favour of stage victories. “In the winter we were indeed planning to go for the green jersey, but now that's no longer a major goal. As a team we have several objectives. For me we're simply focusing on trying to win a stage, and not so much on the green jersey. So no, I won't be contesting the intermediate sprints.”

“We're also not going for green because with Paul we're aiming for the best possible general classification. Fighting for the green jersey costs an enormous amount of energy, including in those intermediate sprints. That's why we've said: we'll focus on stage wins with me, and the best possible general classification with Paul.”