“This is Mark Cavendish-esque” - Olav Kooij receives high praise from Christian Vande Velde after Paris-Nice success

Having started his season with a victory at the Clásica de Almería, Olav Kooij followed that up with a stage win at the UAE Tour. At Paris-Nice this week, he has shown himself to be the best sprinter in the race, taking another two stage wins with him beating Mads Pedersen on both occasions.

Kooij’s most recent victory on stage 5 to Sisteron was a particularly impressive win, as he timed his sprint to perfection to come around Pedersen and Pascal Ackermann in the final hundred metres, taking the victory by a bike length over the Dane.

In a podcast with NBC Sports Cycling, Christian Vande Velde compared Kooij to arguably the greatest sprinter of all-time Mark Cavendish, as he said “this is Mark Cavendish-esque. To still have that speed after such a tough race, that makes the difference. Olav Kooij is only 22 years old and he has a long career ahead of him. Not long ago, Mads Pedersen would never have lost such a sprint in Paris-Nice”.

Vande Velde was a rider in the professional peloton when Cavendish was in his prime years, so is well-placed to make such a comparison and it is undeniable that Kooij’s dominance in the sprints at Paris-Nice and the manner in which he wins is comparable to the Manxman.

The former American rider is concerned at the possible lack of opportunities that Kooij may receive at Team Visma | Lease a Bike though, as he said “I can't wait to see what Kooij can do in Milan-San Remo, but as a sprinter you want to win on the Champs-Elysees in the Tour de France. I wonder whether he will ever get that opportunity at Visma | Lease a Bike”.

Despite winning races consistently over the past three seasons, Kooij is still yet to ride a Grand Tour, with him currently set to ride the Giro d’Italia later this season. However, with so much general classification talent in the team with the likes of Jonas Vingegaard, Sepp Kuss and Cian Uijtdebroeks, opportunities in the biggest races may be hard to come by for the Dutchman.