Kooij denied repeat in Naples after chaotic Giro stage six
With 50 kilometers remaining, a major crash occurred in the peloton. At the time, all eight Team Visma | Lease a Bike riders were attentively positioned at the front, while a group mid-pack slid out on the slippery roads. The jury decided to neutralize the race and later announced there would be no time gaps recorded for the general classification. Bonus seconds and points for the points classification were also scrapped.
“I think the jury made a wise decision”, said Wout van Aert afterward. “Crashes can happen in any race, but at one point the roads were extremely slick. It was the right call to stop the race and give everyone who had been held up a chance to rejoin.”
In a significantly reduced peloton, Team Visma | Lease a Bike had to work hard to bring back the two early breakaway riders. In the final kilometer, Van Aert launched with Kooij in his wheel. The latter deliberately left a small gap. About 200 meters from the line, Van Aert was caught, and Kooij opened up his sprint. The Dutchman saw a gap and went for it, but just as he was getting up to speed, Matteo Moschetti shut the door. The Italian was later disqualified for the move, but by then Kooij’s chance was gone. He crossed the line in tenth place.
“It’s frustrating not to have had a chance to sprint for the win today”
Olav Kooij
Kooij reflected afterward: “When Wout went with 800 meters to go, I decided to hold back slightly. I felt that was the right move at that moment. After he was caught, I saw a gap on the inside and went for it—it’s the fastest line, and a sprinter’s instinct is to take it. But unfortunately, I wasn’t the only one thinking that, and the space quickly disappeared. It’s frustrating not to have had a chance to sprint for the win today.”
“I think both Olav and Wout made the right calls in the finale”, said sports director Marc Reef. “Of course, it all happens in split seconds. Sadly, Olav never got to launch his sprint in the end. That’s disappointing, especially because we put a lot of energy into this stage. The result may not show it, but the way we raced and how the riders felt throughout the day gives us confidence moving forward.”
Giro d’Italia
Stage 6
Result
Rankings
Result
1
Kaden Groves
Alpecin – Deceuninck
04:59:52
2
Milan Fretin
Cofidis
+00:00:00
3
Paul Magnier
Soudal Quick-Step
+00:00:00
10
Olav Kooij
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:00:00
19
Wout van Aert
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:00:00
34
Edoardo Affini
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:00:00
53
Bart Lemmen
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:00:00
66
Wilco Kelderman
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:00:00
85
Simon Yates
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:00:00
94
Dylan van Baarle
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:00:00
111
Steven Kruijswijk
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:00:00
Rankings
1
Mads Pedersen
Lidl – Trek
20:11:44
2
Primož Roglič
Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe
+00:00:17
3
Mathias Vacek
Lidl – Trek
+00:00:24
11
Simon Yates
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:00:52
60
Wilco Kelderman
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:05:58
88
Steven Kruijswijk
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:16:14
98
Wout van Aert
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:20:30
100
Bart Lemmen
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:21:38
118
Dylan van Baarle
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:29:21
145
Edoardo Affini
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:43:33
158
Olav Kooij
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:46:05
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Subjects
Cycling – World Tour men
Wout van Aert
Olav Kooij
Marc Reef
1
Giro d’Italia
