Olav Kooij has won the first stage of the ZLM Tour. The Jumbo-Visma rider was the strongest in the bunch sprint.
The first stage was a flat ride in and around Kapelle in Zeeland.
Sprinter teams
The opening stage of the ZLM Tour had a leading group of five riders. After they had been taken back at more than 40 kilometers from the finish, several riders tried to escape, but the sprinter teams kept the peloton complete. As a result, it was, as expected, a bunch sprint in Kapelle.
double stroke
In that bunch sprint it was already clear in advance that positioning would be important because of two corners in the last hundreds of meters. Kooij seemed to know that and was the first to cut the corners ahead of Italian Jakub Mareczko. Mareczko tried to pass Kooij, but Kooij held on and booked a double: stage win and the leader’s jersey. Mareczko finished second ahead of compatriot Elia Viviani.
Watch the summary of the first stage:
Live
The ZLM Tour will last until Sunday. On Thursday the riders will ride again in Zeeland, then a stage is scheduled between Veere and Goes. The stage can be seen live from 15:10 on L1 Television and via L1.nl.