After hearing Olav Kooij's story, his second-place finish in Kuurne might just be the performance of the day

The fact that Olav Kooij in Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne was able to finish second behind the dominant Jasper Philipsen may be considered a minor miracle after his period of illness. The Visma | Lease a Bike rider was realistic afterward. "Finishing second is always a bummer, but I didn't do much wrong. Then we have to be satisfied with this result," he told IDLProCycling.com, among others, after the race.

Kooij said the plan was for Visma | Lease a Bike to pull in its last men, Wout van Aert and Matteo Jorgenson, early in the sprint preparation. "When Wout couldn't get away, we went for the sprint with me. I told those men I wanted to be in a good position in the last corner. After that, you know it will probably be a bunch sprint, and I could choose the right wheel," is his analysis.

"I saw that Alpecin-Deceuninck still had two men in front of Philipsen. Wout and Matteo saw that, too. They kept up the pace until the last corner, and then Alpecin accelerated the sprint, with me in Philipsen's wheel," Kooij continues. "Groves was in front of Philipsen, and then you had to wait because he would bring the sprint up to speed. I also waited to make a final jump, but he just didn't have it in his legs anymore."

Read more below the video

Kooij was still coughing before the race

The fact that Kooij almost won is surprising, as it was the young Dutch rider's first race after illness. He had suffered from bronchitis and had been ill for a few days, but the coughing lasted long. "I decided to come because this race is not far from home. I couldn't use my full lung capacity in the last few weeks. After that period, there was undoubtedly doubt. Even this morning, I was still coughing," he says.

"That's why I've been riding my bike at a relaxed pace lately. There weren't many good signs for today, but you know it has to go well at some point. Fortunately, that was the case today," he says. Every sentence Kooij expresses makes the second place all the more impressive. "During the race, the doubts quickly disappeared. I noticed that I had quite a bit of strength in my legs. That was necessary, too. Today was a goal that was somewhat in question. It's nice to go home with a result after all."

Read more below the video

What is next for Olav Kooij this spring?

An ordinary cycling enthusiast would be tempted to stay off the bike for a month, but Kooij is looking ahead to his second place in Kuurne with ambition. "I have shown that my work over the winter has not been in vain because of two weeks of less good form. We can rely on that, and hopefully, I can now continue in this direction towards the Tirreno-Adriatico and the following classics. Milan-Sanremo, Classic Brugge-De Panne and Gent-Wevelgem."

In La Primavera, as Milan-Sanremo is referred to by many, Kooij already finished fifteenth in his debut last year. "I can compete there, but I realized I'm not good enough today. I now need to find that upward trend. Last year, my debut went quite well. Hopefully, I have taken another step forward and can compete for more. We are going into the Tirreno to try and get a result there, but at the same time, it is also essential to prepare for Milan-Sanremo and Gent-Wevelgem."

Read also

Visma | Lease a Bike shows a different side on Sunday in Flanders and France: "Tulett executed it perfectly"

Van Aert en Jorgenson show improvement, but Visma | Lease a Bike doesn’t celebrate: "We did not have a solid foundation"

Philipsen opens his season with a win on his birthday in Kuurne, Visma | Lease a Bike's lead-out too early for Kooij

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Get every week the latest news about CYCLING in your inbox!

Subscribe