Olav Kooij wins Tour of Britain first stage with Wout van Aert in second
If the Tour of Britain needed a statement of intent from Jumbo-Visma on stage one into Manchester, this could hardly have been bettered: victory for the Dutch team’s sprinter Olav Kooij with the team’s hopeful for the overall title, Wout Van Aert, firmly ensconced on his wheel.
With no time bonuses deducted at the finishes or intermediate sprints, countback on stage placings could be critical if riders end up level on time next Sunday in Caerphilly and second place means that Van Aert has stolen an early march on his probable rival Tom Pidcock.
The team that has won the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France, and is leading the Vuelta d’España, made their interest clear from the off, putting in the bulk of the hard work behind a five-rider escape that included the British riders Zeb Kyffin and Jack RootkinGray, but retaining enough horsepower to give Kooij the perfect set up the sprint on Deansgate. After a technical final couple of kilometres, including one brutal off-camber right-hander, the outcome depended on positioning in the final corner with 300m remaining, where Edoardo Affini led, allowing Van Aert to lead out Kooij.
The efficiency of the Jumbo leadout was a distinct contrast to Sam Bennett’s Bora team, who did their share of the chasing but went awol in the final metres, where Van Aert had the strength and the effrontery to slot in behind Kooij as he made his final surge for the line, doing just enough to get in Bennett’s way without actually infringing. This was the Belgian’s sixth second place of the season, but not one he will revisit with any regrets.
Kooij continues to progress rapidly at the tender age of 21; in June he scotched rumours that he was flirting with the idea of leaving Jumbo – because their emphasis is clearly on overall titles in the Grand Tours rather than sprint finishes – with a two-year contract extension which means he will complete his apprenticeship there.
This season he has won stages at Paris-Nice and the Tour of Poland, with five other wins including the overall at the ZLM Tour in the Netherlands, which makes him probably the brightest sprint prospect in men’s cycling.
With more sprint stages beckoning in the British Tour, his partnership with Van Aert will find further space to flourish this week. “He is one of the best in the world, having him in front of me gives me so much confidence, you can trust he will get it right,” he said afterwards. On Monday, through Cheshire and into Wrexham, the duo will no doubt be up front again.