Kooij confident of Tour selection alongside Seixas after beating Merlier and Philipsen in Belgium
Olav Kooij took the biggest win of his Decathlon-CMA CGM tenure on stage 4 of the Baloise Belgium Tour, narrowly beating Tim Merlier and Jasper Philipsen in a strong field of sprinters, many of whom are preparing for the Tour de France. Kooij hopes he will be joining them in Barcelona in two weeks' time.
"I assume I can also fight duels with those men in the Tour, that's something to look forward to," Kooij said at the finish in Aarschot, where the Dutch sprinter had been forced to improvise. "I didn't dare to cheer, but I looked at Tim [Merlier] and he had a suspicion. How did I ride the sprint? Unfortunately I lost my teammate, but I found another way forward. That put me a bit close to Jasper [Philipsen] and Tim. Eventually I got into Tim's wheel and slowly got a little closer. It was just enough on the line.”
Kooij transferred to Decathlon-CMA CGM this past winter, partly to ensure greater leadership opportunities, not least a near-guaranteed debut appearance at the Tour de France where there'd been no room for him at the GC-focussed Visma-Lease a Bike. However, Kooij's absence from racing until May's Boucles de la Mayenne due to illness contributed to a diversion of focus at the French WorldTeam, with Paul Seixas busy racking up results.
The 24-year-old Dutchman's Tour selection was still up in the air even after he took two stage wins in his first appearance with his new team, but this latest victory in such elite company will strengthen his case.
