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Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease a Bike) broke the heart of Jhonatan Narváez (Ineos Grenadiers) in the finale 150 metres of stage 9 at the Giro d’Italia, producing a stunning sprint to both catch the Ecuadorian who attacked 7km from the line and outlast Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) for the win in Naples.
Narváez made his move on the final hill of the day, forcing the peloton into a frantic chase back down to the city which was led by Lidl-Trek and UAE Team Emirates. There were shades of the 2012 Tour de France where Bradley Wiggins led out Mark Cavendish as race leader Tadej Pogačar got on the front in the final kilometre to try and bring back Narváez for his fast man Juan Sebastian Molano.
Milan launched from the final leadout of Simone Consonni but the yellow and black jersey of Kooij was close behind and pipped him at the line. Molano was third at the line after the work of Pogačar.
This is the biggest win of Kooij’s career on Grand Tour debut at the Giro after he struggled with knee pain after crashing during the Giro’s opening weekend, bringing Visma-Lease a Bike men their first win since Dwars door Vlaanderen in March.
“This is what we were looking for, to get a stage win. The first two [stages] didn’t go perfectly and today we had to fight for it because it was a really tough finale,” said a delighted Kooij. “The team really committed, although we weren’t sure before because of the guys I was able to get in position and take the win.”
Kooij is one of the six Visma riders left at the Giro after Robert Gesink and Christophe Laporte had to abandon due to sustaining injuries in crashes. But as the best teams always do, they found a way to get him to the line.
“We knew we had to improvise a bit, especially in the last kilometre. Normally with Christophe, we had almost a certainty to get me in position but today we had to just not stick to one plan but see how the race evolved and do what was necessary.”
Kooij has been one of the top young sprinters in the peloton since turning pro with Visma in 2021, and he has already racked up 33 wins at just 22 years old but today was the best of all.
“This was the step I was looking for, at least the win,” Kooij said. “I was looking forward to my first grand tour and after some wins, I think this one is one I was really dreaming of.”
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