Olav Kooij's Decathlon debut delayed by virus

Olav Kooij’s debut for Decathlon CMA CGM has been delayed due to illness, his team announced on Friday. He had been due to start his season at the UAE Tour on February 16, but he will now miss the race, and it is not clear if he will be fit to race at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne at the end of the month.

“The Dutch rider has contracted a virus that will delay his debut in his new colours, according to his team,” Decathlon said in a statement reported by L’Équipe on Friday. “Olav, his coach and the medical staff have put in place a protocol to help him regain his full physical fitness as quickly as possible.”

Kooij joined Decathlon CMA CGM from Visma | Lease a Bike this winter. He won 47 races in five seasons at Visma, including three stage victories at the Giro d’Italia, but he opted to leave the team in order to have the chance to sprint at the Tour de France.

Decathlon won the contest for Kooij’s services by reportedly making him the highest-paid sprinter in the peloton. He is due to make his Tour debut this summer, and he is also slated to ride Paris-Nice in March.

Kooij will be absent from Decathlon’s media day, which is being held in Benidorm on Friday afternoon, with the team saying he “needed to rest to optimise his recovery.”

The 24-year-old is one of nine new signings at Decathlon this season, with Tiesj Benoot also moving across from Visma. Felix Gall and 19-year-old Paul Seixas carry the team’s stage racing hopes alongside another new arrival, Matthew Riccitello.

The French squad will set out with considerable ambition in 2026 after Decathlon took over the ownership of the team’s licence and increased its annual budget to €40 million.