Münsterland Giro ends in disappointment for Kooij and Visma | LaB, but team’s top talents impress

With Julien Vermote, Niklas Behrens, and Christophe Laporte as lead-outs, Kooij had more than enough quality to impress in the German race. However, the winding course, the presence of other top sprinters, and a crash by Merlier in the final phase disrupted the Leopard's sprint plans. He ended up isolated and was therefore unable to sprint for the victory, which went to Philipsen.

This caused considerable disappointment. “This is obviously not what we came for here,” team leader Maarten Wynants said on the team's website. However, in sprint races like this, even a minor detail can cause the mission to fail. “With so many sprinters, it was a fight for position. In the finale, we lost each other at the front. When you're not well-positioned at such high speeds, you know it’s over.”

The result may not have been what they hoped for, and the lead-out failed, but there was still something to cheer about for Visma | Lease a Bike. Top talents Mikal Grimstad Uglehus and Jed Smithson covered important kilometers at the highest level. Both are 20 years old and usually ride for the development team, but in Germany, they rode at the front of the peloton for a long time. Behrens also impressed with his support work.

“Mikal played an important role for us today,” said the Belgian team leader. “Together with the other sprint teams, we kept things under control. Niklas was also extremely strong going into the local lap. At that point, we were perfectly placed, just as we had planned. Unfortunately, that good work is not reflected in the result today. Luckily, new opportunities are coming up soon for Olav.”

Kooij, who will be riding for Decathlon CMA CGM next year, will be in action next week in the Tour de Vendée, a French one-day race. There, he will compete against Arvid de Kleijn, Elia Viviani, Bryan Coquard, and others. Later in October, he will be on the start list for the Tour of Holland: plenty of opportunities for the Dutchman to win.