‘Second is not bad but it’s the victories that count’ - Olav Kooij gets revenge at Paris-Nice

Jumbo-Visma rider overhauls Pedersen in reversal of stage two fortunes

Olav Kooij wins stage five of Paris-Nice 2023
(Image credit: Alex Broadway / Getty)

Young Dutchman Olav Kooij took his second WorldTour sprint stage and delivered for Jumbo-Visma a day after their GC leader Jonas Vingegaard was bested.

Kooij was stuck to Mads Pedersen’s wheel coming into the finale, just as he was on the race's second stage, but this time was able to use the splitstream to jump out of the Trek-Segafredo rider’s shadow and come round him at the line.

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Having trained as a journalist at Cardiff University I spent eight years working as a business journalist covering everything from social care, to construction to the legal profession and riding my bike at the weekends and evenings. When a friend told me Cycling Weekly was looking for a news editor, I didn't give myself much chance of landing the role, but I did and joined the publication in 2016. Since then I've covered Tours de France, World Championships, hour records, spring classics and races in the Middle East. On top of that, since becoming features editor in 2017 I've also been lucky enough to get myself sent to ride my bike for magazine pieces in Portugal and across the UK. They've all been fun but I have an enduring passion for covering the national track championships. It might not be the most glamorous but it's got a real community feeling to it.