Kooij strikes immediately in Tour of Britain, but Visma | Lease a Bike has multiple options: "We aim for success every day"

In 2023, Kooij was already highly successful in the Tour of Britain: he won the first four stages, while teammate Wout van Aert also won a stage. “I have very good memories of two years ago, so I was happy to return and try to continue the success,” Kooij said after his victory in Southwold in the flash interview. There, he was too fast for Tord Gudmestad (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale).

The Norwegian almost surprised him with a long sprint, but the Dutchman wasn't too worried. “There was a strong headwind after the last corner, with an uphill stretch too. We did the run-up to that corner perfectly. After that, it was just a matter of being patient. The guys did well, and I was able to find a good wheel. Then I had to wait before I could make one last push.”

It was only in the final meters that Kooij managed to outsprint Gudmestad. However, due to the difficult finish stretch, the winner knew precisely what he had to do. “The headwind wasn't easy. It was very strong, but he was in the wind, and I had his slipstream. Fortunately, I had enough in my legs to finish it off.”

Visma | Lease a Bike delivered Kooij excellently, and Matthew Brennan was his last pilot. It could well be that the Brit will get his chance the next day. “We take it day by day,” explains his Dutch teammate. “We aim for success every day, so we'll keep making plans. We'll both get our chances; hopefully, we can get more wins.”

With four victories, Kooij equaled the record for most stage wins in a single edition of the Tour of Britain in 2023. With only six stages and three stages on hilly terrain, a new top performance is unlikely. “I don't think I'll break the record. The goal is simply to win as much as possible with the team. We've had a good start; hopefully, we can continue that.”