Kooij thanks strong Visma | Lease a Bike for win in Poland, but exit seems imminent: "I'm excited for the future"

On paper, Kooij was the man to beat in Poland, and that brings with it not only pressure. His opponents know who to watch out for, but the winner of stage 1 also sees the positive side of it. “Somehow others also want your wheel,” he explained in the interview after the finish. “That can also be an advantage in a sprint, because they are also fighting for your wheel instead of fighting with you. And we had a strong team today, so I think that helped.”

Kooij won two stages in the Giro d'Italia, but was unlucky in his next race, crashing heavily in the Copenhagen Sprint. Fortunately, he was able to compete in the Dutch National Championships, where he took silver. After that, things had to be put on hold for a while. “I’ve had some time to recover and then build up to the final part of the season, so the feeling was pretty good going into the race. It’s a bit harder this year, because previous editions had more opportunities for the sprint.”

The adventure at Visma | Lease a Bike is most likely over for the fast rider. He is in high demand on the market, but can he say what the future holds? “I’m really excited for the future, but what it will bring, you guys will know at a certain point,” he laughs. "Right now, I cannot tell too much, there were offers and talks, but there will be a time and place for that." According to reports, Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale has the best cards in the transfer battle.

Enough speculation about next year. Kooij still has this season to finish, and he will do so in the yellow and black of the Killer Bees. He didn't get a place in the Tour de France, and he also missed out on selection for the Vuelta a España. That's why he's focusing on smaller races. “After this, I'll do Hamburg, then the Renewi Tour, the Tour of Britain, and some one-day races,” concludes the Dutchman.

On the team's website, the winner elaborates on the chaotic final kilometers. "We executed our plan well, despite the chaos in the final kilometres. We briefly lost each other in the chaos, but I managed to move to the front at just the right moment. It’s the fourth year in a row I’ve won a stage here. I already had many positive memories of this race, so it’s great to add another one."

Sports director Jesper Mørkøv also saw that the team played a huge part in the final victory. Steven Kruijswijk was particularly praised. "Steven rode on the front for most of the day to keep the early break within reach. Then it was up to the rest of the team to get Olav into a strong position for the sprint. The finale was chaotic; everyone was scattered for a while, but Olav knows better than anyone how to navigate the bunch. It’s a great feeling to start this race with a victory."