Zonneveld praises composed Kooij: "If war broke out, he would still remain calm"

"I would put him in the same category as Merlier, Philipsen, and Milan," Thijs Zonneveld said. "He's just so fast, and that's everywhere. There's hardly a stage race he goes to where he doesn't win. He delivers every time, no matter where it is or the terrain."

For Olav Kooij, this is already his fourth victory of the season, but this win will be felt as a huge relief. "I think there was more relief than joy. Kooij is simply the fastest man in the Giro, and when you get a good lead-out from van Aert, you're actually obliged to finish it off. And now that he's done it, it must be a huge relief."

The fact that the 23-year-old Dutchman managed to pull it off in the end is also because he is extremely calm. “He is so composed in a sprint. If war broke out, he would still remain calm. He is just so calm, and you can see that in the hustle and bustle of the sprint. Kooij is also so mature that he knows it will work out next time if it doesn't work out now."

"And I don't think he feels the pressure at all," the Dutch analyst continues. "You just can't faze Kooij; it's probably not even a big relief for him. The pressure is more on the team than on him. You just can't faze him, and that's such a great quality he has."

But Zonneveld is impressed not only by Kooij but also by van Aert's lead-out. "Normally, you would expect everyone to pass him on that corner, given that van Aert had just completed a 650-meter lead-out. At first, I thought he came out too early, but it was phenomenal when he could pick up speed again after that corner to drop Kooij."

"Everyone thought beforehand: 'What a good sprint train,' but actually, Aert didn't ride much with Kooij," Zonneveld continues. "But this is really impressive, although we won't see it much anymore, as Kooij is likely to move to Decathlon, where he will also get a real sprint train."

And with his likely new team, there's a good chance that the talented sprinter will add even more to his list of achievements. 2In modern cycling, only Sagan and Pogacar have won so much at such a young age. But to win so much when you're still so young is just bizarre. We don't think about it, and it's not normal for Kooij to win again in the Giro."