Danish sprint sensation forced to take a step back because of Olav Kooij: ' I’m not going to be his lead-out man'

Lund Andresen joined the team in late 2025 from Picnic PostNL, where he had already proven himself on multiple occasions as a fast finisher in smaller races following a difficult final stretch. While riding for a Dutch team, he won three stages in the Tour of Turkey in 2024, and that same year he also added two stage wins in the Tour of Denmark and one stage victory in the CRO Race.

In 2025, Lund Andresen got off to a great start with a win at the Surf Coast Classic, but he fell short of victory in other one-day races and during his debut at the Tour de France. After that, he moved to Decathlon CMA CGM, a move that benefited both parties. He started with a stage win at the Tour Down Under and also added a victory at the Tirreno-Adriatico.

Lund Andresen, who also won the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race this year, finished in the top ten during the Opening Weekend, placed sixth in the E3, and came in second in Gent-Wevelgem, heading into his second Giro d'Italia full of confidence. There, he immediately finished second in a sprint on the first day, but he fell ill early in the first week, turning the Giro into an ordeal.

The fact that he still finished second in the Copenhagen Sprint was an impressive achievement, because not long after, Lund Andresen was diagnosed with Pfeiffer’s disease, which suddenly ended his season before summer had even begun. “It was mentally difficult to deal with, because we didn’t know what was going on,” he said in an interview in August.

Lund Andresen is expected to be back in full force by 2027, but he already knows he’ll have to take a back seat when it comes to participating in the Tour de France. The presence of top sprinter Olav Kooij is the deciding factor in this. “I don’t see why he wouldn’t compete in the Tour, and I’m not going to be his lead-out man, so I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

Paul Seixas’s participation is also important, though it remains to be seen whether the super-talented rider will compete in the Tour again in 2027. And so Lund Andresen says: “A lot depends on Olav and how he and Paul plan their season. I don’t think I’ll be ready for an opener in Australia, but I do want to ride as many classics as possible in the spring. After that, I’ll probably do the Giro d’Italia.”

The European Cycling Championships in Denmark are also a major goal for local rider Lund Andresen, who has no problem with Kooij being on the same team. “It’s funny that people are talking about it so much, because it’s always been clear that we ride separately and both have our own lead-out.”