Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Olav Kooij | ||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Numansdorp, Netherlands | 17 October 2001||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 72 kg (159 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Visma–Lease a Bike | ||||||||||||||||||||
Discipline | Road | ||||||||||||||||||||
Role | Rider | ||||||||||||||||||||
Rider type | Sprinter | ||||||||||||||||||||
Amateur teams | |||||||||||||||||||||
2018 | Forte U19 Cycling Team | ||||||||||||||||||||
2019 | Willebrord Wil Vooruit | ||||||||||||||||||||
Professional teams | |||||||||||||||||||||
2020–2021 | Jumbo–Visma Development Team[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
2020 | Team Jumbo–Visma (development)[a] | ||||||||||||||||||||
2021– | Team Jumbo–Visma | ||||||||||||||||||||
Major wins | |||||||||||||||||||||
Grand Tours
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Medal record
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Olav Kooij (born 17 October 2001) is a Dutch professional racing cyclist,[3] who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Visma–Lease a Bike.[4]
Kooij rode for the Forte U19 Cycling Team and Willebrord Wil Vooruit as a junior, before signing for the Jumbo–Visma Development Team for their inaugural season in 2020. He finished second to David Dekker,[5] in his first UCI race with the team at the Ster van Zwolle, before he took three successive victories – either side of the enforced break from racing due to the COVID-19 pandemic – at the Trofej Umag, the Poreč Trophy and the GP Kranj.[6][7][8] He competed at the Czech Cycling Tour for Team Jumbo–Visma, with Jumbo–Visma Development Team colleagues Lars Boven, Owen Geleijn and Michel Hessmann.[9]
In August 2020, it was announced that Kooij was to join UCI WorldTeam Team Jumbo–Visma midway through the 2021 season, after spending the first part of the season with the Jumbo–Visma Development Team; he signed a contract until the end of the 2023 season.[10] The following month, he won the opening stage of the Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali in a sprint finish, ahead of Ethan Hayter and Phil Bauhaus.[11]
In February 2021, Team Jumbo–Visma announced that Kooij would make an immediate move to the World Tour Team, thus becoming the first teenager cyclist to have a full season contract with the team since its creation.[4]