Olav Kooij finds redemption in his first Tour de France stage win: 'You have to keep believing in yourself'
CyclingWednesday, 08 July 2026 at 18:58
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Follow us on GoogleOlav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM) pulled off a formidable victory in the first sprint stage of the Tour de France on Wednesday. The sprinter seized his first opportunity with both hands, and was naturally overjoyed afterward. Here’s what he said immediately after the finish.
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First chance in the Tour de France became an immediate win for Kooij, who was never allowed or able to ride the Tour while at Visma | Lease a Bike. “Yes, after a few pretty tough years and a long wait for this day, it’s great to finally get my chance in a Tour sprint. And then to actually win… that’s surreal.”
"It was actually a pretty quiet day right up until the final stretch, but that’s when you know the nerves start to set in. It’s the first sprint of the Tour, so everyone is still super motivated. In the end, I had to find my own way a bit, but I managed to latch onto the right wheel. I just really wanted to seize that opportunity to sprint today. When I saw the finish line, I went as fast as I could,” said Kooij in his flash interview.
Read more below the video!
Kooij: "This victory means a lot to me"
"This means a lot to me. After a pretty tough spring, it’s fantastic to be back at this level," said Kooij, who wasn’t able to start his season until late May due to a virus. "You have to keep believing in yourself. And if there are a few people who believe in you too, that’s really all you need."
There had been a lot of discussion beforehand about whether Kooij should even be selected, partly because of Paul Seixas’s presence. On Wednesday, he proved Decathlon right. “The support I received from the team today was everything I could have hoped for. They did a truly fantastic job,” he said, referring in part to his compatriots Cees Bol and Daan Hoole.
"Believe me, we're really going to enjoy this. There are still plenty of days left in this Tour, and we’ll just keep doing our best, day after day. But at least they can’t take these away from us anymore. What’s next? We’ll just take it day by day,” concluded Kooij, who remains motivated to the core.
Read more below the photo!
Olav Kooij won in Pau.
Kooij on NOS After Tour de France Victory
Right after the interview in English, Kooij also appeared on camera with Han Kock of the NOS. “Wonderful! This is exactly the kind of day I came to the Tour for. When you manage to seize an opportunity like that right away, it’s truly amazing.”
Even though it was his first Tour sprint, Kooij approached it like any other race. “After all, these are the guys you’ve been sprinting against all year. Plus, in the final stretch, you don’t really notice all the craziness going on around you,” said the speedy rider. “In the final stretch, I actually automatically enter a kind of ‘zone’ of total concentration. That was the case today, too.”
"I knew there would be plenty of moments when you could move up, but also plenty of moments when you could actually lose ground. I really tried to time my move for that turn 1.1 kilometers from the finish. It worked out perfectly. When I saw that Astana was leading out the sprint, I knew it was ideal,” he says of the finish.
"In those last 200 meters, you just have to go for it. If you wait too long, they’ll pass you from behind. I was confident that my sprint was strong enough to finish it on my own, and that’s exactly what happened," the proud Dutchman continues. “At the beginning of the year, things didn’t look so promising. But I never stopped believing, and I worked my way back up to this level step by step. With that in mind, this victory is even sweeter.”
Tom van der Salm (27) comes from the charming town of Zeilberg (Deurne) in the Netherlands and has been working as editor-in-chief & journalist at IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, In de Leiderstrui, since 2019. He travels with the peloton from the Tour de France to the AlUla Tour and from the World Championships in Rwanda or Canada to the Zilvermeercross in Mol. In his spare time he enjoys playing football, mountain biking, running, walking with his Labrador/Stabyhoun, investing, holidays, (specialty) beers, reading, cooking and watching sports & documentaries!
Contact: [email protected]
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Latest Comments
- - How many times has Pog actually worn yellow now? The article hints he’s lost count—anyone got the exact stat?robert6506-07-2026
- - Unreal start to the Tour: two punches in three days. If he’s taking yellow this early, the real game is load management before the first true summit finish.davidm06-07-2026
- - Grandissimo Tadej! Maillot jaune meritato, squadra perfetta oggi.sprocketspiny06-07-2026
- - Not sure I buy the “nothing really tough” description. 3,850m of climbing in that heat is brutal, even if the gradients aren’t HC. Felt a bit dismissive.cadencekingm06-07-2026
- - Pogacar’s humour about the gels was gold. Also, nice to see him credit Del Toro. That Barcelona gesture coming back today was a proper team arc.michael5406-07-2026
- - Quick question: when they say “break got a free pass” by Visma, does that mean Visma just stopped chasing completely? Or is it more like they eased but still controlled the gap?velodromevirtuoso106-07-2026
- - Sorry, but the piece glosses over how Vermeersch shredded the gap. That was the hinge of the stage. Give him more credit than a single line.raceready706-07-2026
- - Two seconds on a 200m kick says it all. Vingegaard looked glued, but not enough punch yet. Heat management + gels every 30 minutes clearly dialed.andrewf06-07-2026
- - What a statement from Pog! Del Toro’s launch was textbook. You could see UAE-XRG had zero interest in gifting the break any hope today.jennifer1906-07-2026
- - ¿Habrá abanicos con ese viento noroeste? Si se parte el pelotón en los llanos antes de Quillan, adiós a muchos sprinters.patriciaw06-07-2026
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