Praise for sprinter Kooij after new feat at European Championship: "Olav is following in the footsteps of Pedersen and Van Aert"

Olav Kooij a man for the sprints? Maybe, but the 21-year-old Dutchman from Jumbo-Visma has so much more in his legs... On Sunday at the European Cycling Championship on the Col du VAM, he once again proved to be a jack of all trades, being able to keep up with the best classic men and sprint to bronze. IDLProCycling.com caught up with him at the finish line and in the mixed zone.

Kooij, who already came second in a tough race at the Dutch National Championships this year, was actually the leader for the first time in such a tough one-day race at the European Championships. Earlier this year, he was the wild card, after Dylan van Baarle, but on Sunday, the Netherlands put all its bets on the sprinting talent. He did not disappoint with a third place behind Christophe Laporte and Wout van Aert. "It looked good for a long time, with one rider in front. I did feel like I had another acceleration in me, but those laps were super tough. We caught up to him, but Wout and I couldn't get past him," he analyzes the finale.

Kooij praises Laporte after two consecutive attacks

"I did have the idea to give it another strong push in the last hundred meters, and Wout had the same idea. But Christophe countered us very strongly," he praises his Jumbo-Visma teammate. "Everyone was giving it their all on those last climbs, so you can certainly your legs on that last climb. Those last two times we went uphill full throttle, but when we got to his wheel, he was able to accelerate even more...

Kooij felt that Laporte was in good shape during the penultimate round over the VAM mountain. "A round earlier I felt that the pace could be pushed even more and I was able to slide along nicely with Christophe. A round later he did it again and stayed in front. Really super clever. The rightful winner, I think. We all know that Christophe is a super good rider, so it doesn't surprise us that he's competing for the title."

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Yet it seemed for a long time that Laporte wouldn't make it. Kooij and Van Aert chased their Jumbo teammate full throttle, assisted by Mike Teunissen and Arnaud De Lie. "We were well positioned and Mike kept riding. The chase wasn't full throttle, you also don't want to do more than someone else. The cooperation was certainly not bad, but you also know that everyone has the sprint on top of their mind," says Kooij, just like Van Aert, indicating that in such a one-day race it never gels 100 percent with the chasers.

"A next step," Kooij judges his European Championship

Still, he's happy with bronze, perhaps the maximum achievable. "We didn't really make mistakes and had two in that group. You prefer to win, but if you haven't made any major mistakes, you should be satisfied with bronze." He says it with a smile, because Kooij is no longer just a mass sprinter. He was able to feel that at the highest level in a leading role. "This is what you hope for beforehand, but the fact that I was able to participate in the race like this today is a next step."

Mike Teunissen, who rode alongside the frontrunners at the European Championship and pushed himself to the limit for Kooij, also affirms this. "Honestly, I'm not surprised; we knew Olav had it in him. I have raced a lot with him in the past, and it's great to ride alongside him. He's self-assured and doesn't easily lose focus. I maintained confidence in a favorable outcome right until the finish line, with the Belgians as our main competition. I like that he aims for those classics. Sprinting is a nice job, but I prefer the guys who can do more. Olav is indeed following in the footsteps of riders like Pedersen or Van Aert. It's a promising sign, considering they're among the best in the top ten. Let him tackle a grand tour and accumulate more experience."

National coach Koos Moerenhout also shared a few words with this website regarding Kooij's ambitions as a cyclist. "He was confident, yet facing the challenge of the VAM mountain against Wout van Aert, one of the foremost classics riders in the world, is no small feat. Even if you're good, that doesn't mean you're along with the right group. It's good he showcased his capabilities in a 200-kilometer race. Hopefully, this paves the way for his venture into the Monuments. Though we haven’t specifically discussed it, I'm aware of his interest in classics races. It's going to be good to ride a big tour with Jumbo-Visma, he can take another step with that. He's driven and we're going to see what that brings."