Olav Kooij secured the eleventh victory of his season at the Grand Prix d’Isbergues. The Dutch top sprinter of Visma | Lease a Bike still has plenty of chances to equal or even break his own record for wins. "It’s still great to win, even at the end of the season," he emphasizes.
"This region has the ingredients to make it a tough race. But today there was little wind and we wanted to make it a sprint no matter what. Despite the rain, it was a good day on the bike," Kooij said after the finish during the flash interview.
With Matthew Brennan and Olav Kooij starting in Northern France, all eyes were on Visma | Lease a Bike. The favorite status was more than justified for the yellow-and-black team. In the final kilometers, they rode nearly the entire squad at the front to execute a strong lead-out.
The team with the two top favorites - photo: Cor Vos
"There were quite a few corners in the finale, so it was important to be well positioned at the front near the end. We executed exactly how we planned beforehand. We rode mostly at the front and had strong men to deliver a lead-out like this," Kooij says about it.
Who was the team leader?
Kooij could count on a perfect lead-out. Brennan did particularly well. But when was it decided who the leader would be? The Brit has also won 12 races this year. "We made this plan beforehand and we finished first and second, so we couldn’t ask for more than that," Kooij is clear about the distribution of roles.
And so, the top sprinter from Numansdorp could add his eleventh win of the season to his record. He is well on track to break his own record (13 wins in 2023). Whether he will succeed remains to be seen, but according to Kooij, winning a race will never get old. "It’s still great to win, even at the end of the season. So far, it has been a good season with many victories, so it’s nice to close the year in a good way in these last few races."
Olav KooijNo races scheduled
