Olav Kooij claims stage 2 victory in Renewi Tour with blistering sprint
Stage 2 of the 2025 Renewi Tour covered 172.7 kilometres, starting in the Flemish seaside town of Blankenberge and finishing in the West Flanders town of Ardooie. With only 462 metres of elevation, it was set to be a flat affair, though, as is often the case in this region, the wind was always going to play a role.
Stage 2 of the 20th edition of the Renewi Tour got underway at 13:25 local time in Blankenberge. From the start, the high winds on the North Sea coast caused immediate splits in the peloton.
The stage quickly turned into a stop-start affair, with repeated splits forming and then being closed in the opening 70 kilometres before the riders reached the 81-kilometre local circuit.
Race leader Tim Merlier (Soudal–QuickStep) was kept protected in the peloton by teammates Paul Magnier, Bert Van Lerberghe, Warre Vangheluwe and Dries Van Gestel.
After the first passage of the finish line, with 63 kilometres to go, the race broke open again in the exposed farmland. A group of 50 riders formed at the front, with Merlier safely among them.
The day also saw two Norwegian abandons: former world time trial champion Tobias Foss (Ineos) and Sven Erik Bystrøm (Groupama–FDJ), who will join Uno-X in 2026.
The relentless pace in the peloton, driven by Decathlon AG2R, Movistar, Groupama–FDJ and Jayco AlUla, led to a crash with 38 kilometres remaining. Czech champion Mathias Vacek (Lidl–Trek), Mick van Dijke (Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe) and Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) were all involved, but quickly remounted.
Approaching the green kilometre, a group of 15 briefly gained daylight, but they were reeled in before the sprint point. On the final lap of the circuit, crashes struck again, with three riders going down. The worst affected, Jonas Geens (Flanders–Baloise), was able to continue.
With 12 kilometres to go, Merlier’s lead-out man Van Lerberghe was dropped after a strong pull from Edoardo Affini, who dictated the pace into the finale.
Inside the final 10 kilometres, attacks came from several riders, including Belgian champion Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates–XRG) and Jasper Stuyven, but none could stick.
Going into the last 3 kilometres, it became a fight for position, with Tudor Pro Cycling the best drilled, whilst the Visma | Lease a Bike train, was all over the place as the peloton fought their way through the twisty streets.
Van der Poel set up the leadout for their man of the day, Simon Dehairs, with Merlier on the wheel, and out of the blue, with all of the focus on Merlier, Olav Kooij (Visma | Lease a Bike) rocketed to victory on the stage with a quite brilliant sprint. Kooij finished ahead of Pavel Bittner (Picnic PostNL) in 2nd and Milan Fretin (Cofidis) in third.
