Why bike familiarity mattered in Olav Kooij’s Tour de France breakthrough

By the time the Tour reached Pau on stage five, the process appeared to have come together. Kooij survived a crash disrupted finale, positioned himself for the key corner with 1.1 kilometres remaining and then launched his sprint from distance to beat Max Kanter and Tim Merlier.

“For days like this, I am in the Tour,” Kooij said after taking the first Tour stage victory of his career.

The result was a significant one for Kooij, but also an indication of how quickly he had adapted after changing teams. A transfer means far more for a rider than swapping one jersey for another. The bike, pedals, shoes, and position can all change at the same time.

“Those are all things that come with a transfer,” Kooij told Domestique. “You need some time to get used to them and to make adjustments.”

Material was one of the factors Kooij considered before joining Decathlon CMA CGM. He was interested not only in the equipment already being used, but also in the ideas behind its development.

“I look at which materials teams use and what their vision is,” he said. “That definitely plays a role.”

The relationship between Decathlon CMA CGM and Van Rysel means the distance between rider and manufacturer is relatively small. Kooij has been able to speak directly with engineers about the bike and the development process.

“You notice that the lines are quite short,” he said. “You have contact with engineers who explain things or ask questions about the equipment. It is interesting to be involved in that process as a rider, especially in a sport where equipment is very important.”

Kooij is reluctant to present bike development as a series of dramatic breakthroughs. At WorldTour level, progress usually comes through a succession of smaller changes rather than one update that transforms a rider’s performance overnight.

“There are often small updates or upgrades, but they are not always significant enough that you notice them immediately,” he said. “It happens in small steps.”

For a sprinter, however, small steps can still matter. Tour stages are routinely decided by centimetres, while speeds in the finale can exceed 70 kilometres per hour. At that point, aerodynamic efficiency becomes increasingly important.

“There are slightly different factors that matter for a sprinter than for a climber,” Kooij said. “Aerodynamics are important for everyone, but the higher the speed, the more important they become. For a sprinter, it is essential.”

The difficulty is finding the right balance between making improvements and changing too much. With his season already compressed by illness, Kooij did not want to spend the months before his Tour debut continually altering his position.

“I tried not to change too much in a short period,” he said. “You have to give yourself time to get used to something. If you keep adjusting things every week, at some point you no longer know what is making the difference or why something does not feel right.”

One part of the bike was already familiar. Decathlon CMA CGM uses SRAM components, allowing Kooij to continue with the same groupset after leaving Visma Lease a Bike.

“It was nice to stay on the same groupset,” he said. “That part already felt familiar.”

Kooij’s first victories for Decathlon CMA CGM came at Boucles de la Mayenne and the Tour of Belgium, but the Tour presented a more demanding test.

The fight for position begins several kilometres before a sprint finish, with riders accelerating out of corners, moving through gaps and trying to remain close to their teammates. A sprinter needs a bike that feels predictable enough that he does not have to think about it.

That was particularly important in Pau. The late crash split the peloton and removed several riders from contention, but Kooij remained close to the front. He had identified the final corner as the crucial point and reached it in the position he wanted.

“I knew there were many moments to move up, but also many moments where you could lose your place,” he said. “I tried to time it towards the corner at 1.1 kilometres. That worked out perfectly.”

After the corner, Kooij followed the acceleration from XDS Astana before starting his own sprint inside the final 200 metres.

“If you wait, they come from behind,” he said. “I had the confidence that my sprint was strong enough to go myself.”

That confidence was based primarily on his form, but also on the work completed during his short preparation for the Tour. His position had settled and the bike responded as expected when he applied his power.

Kooij had spent the first months of the year simply trying to return to racing. In Pau, there was no indication of that disrupted preparation.

There was only a clear road, 200 metres to the line and a bike he trusted enough not to think about.