Olav Kooij immediately opens his 2025 account in Oman, thanks to perfect setup by Visma newcomers

Prior to the stage race, the Muscat Classic took place on Friday in the capital of Oman, in which we also saw a Dutch rider win. Rick Pluimers claimed his first professional victory for Tudor by holding off defending champion Jenthe Biermans (Arkéa - B&B Hotels) with a strong sprint. A great boost for the Dutch contingent at Tudor, who had seen Arvid de Kleijn struggle with bad luck in AlUla.

Visma | Lease a Bike started the opening stage with an early setback. The Dutch team had already seen top talent Jorgen Nordhagen withdraw from the Muscat Classic and had to do without the Norwegian in the stage race as well, as he was still too ill to compete. This meant the team started one rider down, which immediately proved to be a disadvantage on day one, as they had to work all day in support of sprinter Olav Kooij.

Four riders broke away at the front, but there was no immediate threat, as—with all due respect—it included Rodrigo Álvarez (Burgos-BH), Kane Richards (Roojai), and two riders from Oman. Pietro Mattio, an Italian who usually competes for Visma | Lease a Bike’s development team, was called up to manage the pace behind them. His task became slightly easier with 40 kilometers to go when the breakaway began to fall apart, and the two Omani riders were dropped.

Heading into the final 30 kilometers, the tension in the peloton began to rise, likely due to the wind and multiple course changes. Teams like Picnic PostNL, Soudal Quick-Step, Q36.5, and TotalEnergies were all present at the front, along with Steven Kruijswijk in Visma | Lease a Bike’s yellow and black colors. And so, the race quickly approached the final 10 kilometers, where the first decisive sprint of the Tour of Oman was set to unfold.

Uno-X launched a strong lead-out train with six kilometers to go, but other teams managed to disrupt the Norwegian fleet. In the final three kilometers, they regrouped amidst the chaos, while Movistar and Visma | Lease a Bike also positioned themselves well at the front. Nikias Behrens played a key role for Visma | Lease a Bike, ensuring the team was in prime position for the sprint.

Dan McLay kept a close watch on Olav Kooij, who entered the final few hundred meters on Fernando Gaviria’s wheel. From that spot, the Dutch sprinter launched a dominant sprint to victory, beating Picnic PostNL’s Pavel Bittner and Uno-X’s Erlend Blikra to the line. Kooij will start Sunday’s stage wearing the leader’s jersey.