Olav Kooij on the plan at Visma | Lease a Bike: "There were teams that promised me a sprint train in the Tour"

It's not surprising that Kooij has climbed the ranks at Visma | Lease a Bike. When he moved to the WorldTour team in 2021, he immediately won two stages in the CRO Race later that year. In 2022, he was participating as a sprinter in the smaller races and won one or more stages in the Circuit Cycliste Sarthe, the Tour of Hungary, the ZLM Tour and the Tour of Denmark. He booked his first WorldTour victory in the Tour of Poland, and his win in the Sparkassen Münsterland Giro was also impressive.

In 2023, he continued on an upward trajectory, especially after it was announced in the summer that he had extended his expiring contract until the end of 2025. A sign of the times, as Kooij could have joined any time he wanted at that point. "It was the first time I was at the end of my contract. With the performances of the past years, there was certainly interest, but in the end, the team came up with a nice plan. With sporting objectives that I could see myself in," Kooij told this website.

"I didn't hesitate for long when that plan was suggested, and I wasn't really at a crossroads either. There were teams that promised me a sprint train and the Tour de France, but in terms of team and performance, I'm with the best team now. I feel very much at home here, and when my grand tour debut was brought up, the choice wasn't hard anymore," he continues. The fact that the contract was renewed until the end of 2025 also partly came from Kooij himself. "In elite sports, it's difficult to think long-term. For the next two years, this is very fitting."

At Visma | Lease a Bike, he is with the best team at the moment, and that's also worth something. "Every rider in the team is part of the performance and benefits from it. In this way, even riders outside of the grand tours develop to the highest possible level. That applies to me too. Of course, I don't do the same training as Gesink and Kruijswijk, I have my own approach. But the vision is largely the same."

But what was that plan that Visma | Lease a Bike came up with during the contract negotiations? Kooij is willing to share some details. "I start in Almeria (where he won, ed.), then do the UAE Tour and after that Paris-Nice. Then Sanremo, Gent-Wevelgem... A great opportunity to get enough sprints in towards the Giro. And in the one-day races, I hope to learn a bit more where I stand in those competitions. There's a nice challenge there. In a race like Gent-Wevelgem, I was able to keep up well last year, so I hope to take another step forward there. I hope to compete for the win, but in the classics, we have a very wide core in the team, so we'll have to wait and see how that turns out."

That sneaky glance at the classics stems from some surprising results that Kooij pulled off in such races. Second in Brugge-De Panne, second behind Dylan van Baarle at the Dutch National Championships, and third on a tough circuit at the VAM mountain at the European Championships. "With Gent-Wevelgem, the World Championships and the European Championships, I've really been able to make progress in the one-day races. Perhaps that's something I should make a more specific goal of in the future. That won't be for 2024, because this year the Giro is really the goal, not the tough classics. For a sprinter, there are a few one-day races that should be within my capabilities. Now, it's mostly sprinting."

Kooij mentions Milan-Sanremo as a dream race he would like to win some day. "With the way it's being ridden now, as a sprinter it's very hard to win Sanremo. I'm glad to be at the starting line, and perhaps there will come a year when guys like Pogacar are not participating, or if there's a headwind, that it might still end up being a sprint. As a sprinter, it's one of the few Monuments you can have some hopes for. I used to dream of Sanremo, Roubaix and the World Championships, the biggest races."

For Kooij, the Giro d'Italia is a leap of faith where he, along with Wout van Aert, will form a deadly duo. "I would have been fine with doing a grand tour last year too, but what the team has achieved was unique. I had a fitting program in which I could develop myself. This year is the right moment," Kooij says about his debut in a three-week stage race. "I hope to improve in all aspects, both in endurance and in sprinting. At this age, you do see that you develop yourself. The Giro will be an exploration, something I've never done before. We're going to learn a lot from it."

What does he hope to get out of a grand tour like that? Kooij has a whole list of things in mind. "How will I react to it? How will I come out of it physically? It's hard to predict now, but it's going to be a beautiful challenge. I'm just going into it wanting that experience, I'm going to find out. I can learn a lot from experienced guys like Robert Gesink, who are willing to share tips with you. Normally, my strategy is more to observe than to ask, but if I'm struggling with something, I will speak up. The ball is in your court."

The ultimate goal is to become a top sprinter, who can also make an impact in one-day races. A bit like Jasper Philipsen did with Alpecin-Deceuninck in 2023. "I think Philipsen is clearly the best sprinter of last year. Behind him, you have a group with several guys who can win at WorldTour level. You try to beat the men you're racing against, and I think I've been the sprinter with the second most wins over the past two years. Those were great numbers."