Olav Kooij
Olav Kooij (born 17 October 2001 in Numansdorp, Netherlands) is widely regarded as one of the most promising young sprinters in the professional peloton. Racing for Team Visma | Lease a Bike, he made a seamless transition from the development squad and quickly built a reputation with a high win rate in bunch sprints. Kooij combines top-end speed with tactical awareness and is also developing into a contender in some of the Spring Classics. Find Olav Kooij’s latest results, stats and race calendar on this page.
Biography of pro cyclist Olav Kooij
Olav Kooij is a Dutch sprinter who broke through as a teenager and never slowed down. Compact, explosive and tactically sharp, he made his name winning stage races and Grand Tour stages while still in his early twenties.
By the time he reached his mid-twenties he had collected over 50 wins and a reputation as one of the most reliable finishers in the WorldTour, the kind of sprinter a team builds a lead-out around.
Early life and rise
Kooij grew up in the Hoeksche Waard region of the southern Netherlands and came up through the Dutch club and junior scene, riding for Forte U19 and Willebrord Wil Vooruit. In 2020 he signed for the newly formed Jumbo–Visma Development Team in its inaugural season.
The results came almost immediately. He finished second on his first UCI race for the team and then took three straight wins around the COVID-disrupted calendar, at the Trofej Umag, the Poreč Trophy and the GP Kranj, marking him out as a rare sprinting talent.
Grand Tour stage wins and stage-race success
Kooij quickly translated his junior speed into senior results. He became a prolific stage-race winner, picking up bunch-sprint victories across the calendar and overall-classification spoils in lighter stage races.
His Grand Tour breakthrough came at the Giro d'Italia, where he claimed three stage wins across his Visma years, including a victory on the final stage into Rome. Alongside the Giro, he added one-day success at Cyclassics Hamburg and overall wins at races such as the Tour of Poland, the Renewi Tour and the Tour of Britain.
Rider profile: strengths and style
Kooij is a pure bunch sprinter with a fast, repeatable finish and the bike-handling to hold position in a chaotic final kilometre. He is quick over short, sharp climbs too, which lets him survive finishes that drop heavier sprinters. His consistency, rather than just top-end speed, is what marks him out: he converts opportunities at a high rate and rarely makes positioning errors.
Personal life
Kooij is from Numansdorp in the Netherlands and came up entirely through the Dutch development pathway. He keeps a relatively low public profile, letting his results do the talking.
Records and milestones
- Born 17 October 2001 in Numansdorp, Netherlands
- Three Giro d'Italia stage wins, including a stage into Rome
- More than 50 professional UCI victories
- Overall wins at the Tour of Poland, Renewi Tour and Tour of Britain
- One-day win at Cyclassics Hamburg
- Signed for Decathlon CMA CGM Team in 2026 after six seasons with Visma | Lease a Bike
What's next for Olav Kooij?
With his move to Decathlon CMA CGM, Kooij leads a newly built sprint unit and will be backed to chase more Grand Tour stages and big bunch finishes. Still in his mid-twenties, he has time to add Monument contention and further Grand Tour success to an already deep palmarès.
