Olav Kooij won the Münsterland Giro 2022. The Dutchman from Team Jumbo Visma prevailed in the sprint in Münster on Monday.
The 20-year-old celebrated his twelfth win of the season after 205.9 kilometers on the Schlossplatz in Münster. Second was Belgian Jasper Philipsen from the Alpecin-Deceuninck team. Max Walscheid from Neuwied from the Cofodis team came third.
The sprint stars Sam Bennett (Ireland), Fabio Jakobsen and Dylan Groenewegen (both Netherlands) followed in places five to seven. Meanwhile, two-time Giro d’Italia stage winner Pascal Ackermann had to end his hopes of victory with just over five kilometers to go when he was delayed by a fall.
Kooij was a speed skater a few years ago
“I’ve been waiting for this sprint all day. In the end I had enough space. It’s a good season for me,” said Kooij, emphasizing: “It’s nice to beat some of the world’s best sprinters.” A few years ago, Kooij was one of the top talents in Dutch speed skating. In 2019 he became runner-up in the juniors over 3000 meters.
In the final sprint, Kooij confidently prevailed with a gap of several bike lengths. Three kilometers before the finish, Frederik Frison from Team Lotto-Soudal launched another attack, but was caught again 1.6 kilometers later, so that the mass sprint made the decision in the end.
This year’s race featured top-class participants. Ten WorldTour teams started in Telgte that morning. After all, for some racing teams in the fight against relegation it was still about important points for the world rankings.
