'When I saw the line I just went as hard as I could' – Olav Kooij wins first bunch sprint of 2026 Tour de France on stage five
Decathlon CMA CGM rider outguns bunch after a late crash 5km from the finish line caused chaos
Olav Kooij took a dramatic win on stage five of the 2026 Tour de France, after multiple riders crashed just outside 5km to go.
The Decathlon CMA CGM rider won on his first opportunity at his debut Tour, as Max Kanter (XDS Astana Team) and Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) took second and third respectively.
The first bunch sprint was always likely to be chaotic, but it was a relatively calm day, with just one rider, Baptiste Veistroffer (Lotto Intermarché) escaping. However, that changed in the final kilometres, with a crash spitting the bunch with 5.3km to go.
Amid the mayhem that ensued after the crash, it looked for a moment like there might have been a time gap between Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), but both were recorded as coming in 14 seconds after the winner, and yellow jersey holder Torstein Træen (Uno-X Mobility) was in the same group, so ultimately there were no major positions shuffles in the GC – in fact, the first 16 spots remain unchanged from yesterday.
Olav Kooij, 24, only joined Decathlon CMA CGM earlier this year, this is his first time at the Tour. He was injured or ill for the first half of this season, which meant he didn't race until end of May and had to really fight for selection.
"After a couple of hard days already, I had to wait to this day to get this first chance to sprint in the Tour, and to immediately win is unbelievable," said Kooij in his post-race interview.
"I think it means quite a lot, just in general, after a pretty tough spring, to get back to this level, to keep believing in yourself and just a few people who believe in you as well is all you need. To be here with the support of the team today was all I could ask for and they did a great job.
"I think it was quite an easy day until the final, so you know it will be hectic. The first sprint of the Tour, everyone is still really eager. I just managed to find my way a bit on my own in the end, but I found the right wheel, and I just wanted to have a chance to sprint today. When I saw the line I just went as hard as I could.
"We’ll enjoy this. There are many more days left in this Tour and we will just keep going and try to do our best every day, but for sure we’ll enjoy this one. We need to get there, day by day."
More to follow…
