{"id":249288,"date":"2026-06-20T21:43:56","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T21:43:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/20\/did-olav-kooij-punch-his-tour-de-france-ticket-with-baloise-belgium-tour-stage-4-win\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T21:43:56","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T21:43:56","slug":"did-olav-kooij-punch-his-tour-de-france-ticket-with-baloise-belgium-tour-stage-4-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/20\/did-olav-kooij-punch-his-tour-de-france-ticket-with-baloise-belgium-tour-stage-4-win\/","title":{"rendered":"Did Olav Kooij punch his Tour de France ticket with Baloise Belgium Tour stage 4 win?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<p id=\"elk-4f17066b-a36e-47b2-80c9-45876b39f1d5\">After having postponed the start of his season due to a lingering virus, <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/road\/teams\/uci-worldtour\/2026\/decathlon-cma-cgm\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/road\/teams\/uci-worldtour\/2026\/decathlon-cma-cgm\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/road\/teams\/uci-worldtour\/2026\/decathlon-cma-cgm\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Olav Kooij<\/a> claimed three victories in a short time, starting with two stage wins at Boucles de la Mayenne at the end of May, and then added the <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/baloise-belgium-tour-olav-kooij-wins-stage-4-in-photo-finish-ahead-of-tim-merlier\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/baloise-belgium-tour-olav-kooij-wins-stage-4-in-photo-finish-ahead-of-tim-merlier\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/baloise-belgium-tour-olav-kooij-wins-stage-4-in-photo-finish-ahead-of-tim-merlier\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">stage 4 win at Baloise Belgium Tour<\/a> on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>Not only was the Decathlon CMA CGM rider the fastest in Belgium, but he also outsprinted Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep) and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech) in a hectic finale.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\" class=\"hawk-root\"\/>\n<p id=\"elk-4f17066b-a36e-47b2-80c9-45876b39f1d5-2\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">The Dutch sprinter agreed that beating proven fastmen like Merlier and Philipsen, both former Tour de France stage winners, with Philipsen also a green jersey winner, gave him confidence heading into the rest of the season. He then hinted that the Tour de France itself may be on his radar this year.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-6 w-full overflow-hidden rounded-[10px] lg:my-8\" data-component-name=\"JwPlayer:Carousel\" data-jwp-carousel=\"\" data-jwp-carousel-payload=\"{&quot;ids&quot;:{&quot;playerID&quot;:&quot;jYDCcabO&quot;,&quot;searchPlaylistID&quot;:&quot;gwjdoYHD&quot;,&quot;divID&quot;:&quot;botr_gwjdoYHD_jYDCcabO_div&quot;,&quot;fallbackPlaylistID&quot;:&quot;gwjdoYHD&quot;,&quot;fallbackDivID&quot;:&quot;botr_gwjdoYHD_jYDCcabO_div&quot;,&quot;key&quot;:&quot;X9\\\/mXVGac0NphghLH9hZaqWA5d3dhAM\\\/Ih07grnEyMLjuO2E&quot;,&quot;tintLogo&quot;:true,&quot;useSearchPlaylist&quot;:false,&quot;enabled&quot;:true},&quot;signPostingEnabled&quot;:true,&quot;signPostingLinkEnabled&quot;:true,&quot;waitForAdLoad&quot;:false,&quot;hidePlayerOnDesktop&quot;:false,&quot;hidePlayerOnMobile&quot;:false,&quot;hidePlayerOnTablet&quot;:false}\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-nowrap items-center justify-between gap-3 bg-zinc-900 px-[14px] py-3\" data-jwp-carousel-header=\"\">\n<div class=\"flex min-w-0 shrink items-center\"><span class=\"inline-flex items-center gap-1.5 text-sm font-article-heading capitalize leading-5 text-white whitespace-nowrap\"><span class=\"jwp-carousel-title-mobile\"\/><span class=\"jwp-carousel-title-desktop\">Latest Videos From<\/span><span class=\"jwp-carousel-brand inline-flex items-center\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"aspect-video w-full min-h-[200px] lg:min-h-[330px] relative overflow-hidden bg-black\" data-jwp-carousel-container=\"\">\n<div class=\"absolute inset-0 size-full items-center justify-center bg-white\" data-jwp-carousel-fallback=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/flexiimages\/gmvwmhupgi1715762145.svg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/flexiimages\/gmvwmhupgi1715762145.svg\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] max-h-12 w-auto\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;I assume I can also fight duels with those men in the Tour, that&#8217;s something to look forward to,\u201d Kooij said in Dutch after winning Baloise Belgium Tour stage 4, according to a report in <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wielerflits.nl\/nieuws\/olav-kooij-hint-op-deelname-aan-tour-de-france-na-sprintzege-tegen-wereldtop\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.wielerflits.nl\/nieuws\/olav-kooij-hint-op-deelname-aan-tour-de-france-na-sprintzege-tegen-wereldtop\/\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\"><em>Wielerflits<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">\u201cThis [victory] gives a lot of satisfaction. Especially after a missed start, it&#8217;s extra nice to return like this. I think we handled it well by first fully restoring and then rebuilding. The result is that I am now immediately returning to my old level.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside data-component-name=\"Recirculation:ArticleRiver\" data-recirculation-type=\"inline\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"Trending Bar\" data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"clear-both pt-2 pb-0 mb-4\">\n        <span class=\"&#10;            flex&#10;            after:content-[''] after:flex-1 after:ml-4 after:my-[0.7rem] after:border-t after:border-solid after:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            before:content-[''] before:flex-1 before:mr-4 before:my-[0.7rem] before:border-t before:border-solid before:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            font-article-heading pb-0 text-[length:var(--article-river-title--font-size,1em)] uppercase sm:text-[length:var(--article-river-title--font-size,0.875em)] font-bold&#10;        \"><br \/>\n            You may like<br \/>\n        <\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">In the chaotic finale, Kooij lost his teammates and had to surf wheels until he slotted behind Merlier and used the slipstream to take a photo-finish victory.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">It is no secret that Kooij transferred from Visma-Lease a Bike to the French WorldTour team to get more opportunities to lead a sprint train at the Tour de France. But illness delayed that debut, and in the meantime, teammate Paul Seixas enjoyed a meteoric early season, earning himself a fast-tracked spot at the 2026 Tour.<\/p>\n<div id=\"slice-container-newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-Z4HxGjwJ4ZFoc97zgALsQN\" class=\"slice-container newsletter-inbodyContent-slice newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-Z4HxGjwJ4ZFoc97zgALsQN slice-container-newsletterForm\">\n<div data-hydrate=\"true\" class=\"newsletter-form__wrapper newsletter-form__wrapper--inbodyContent\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-form__container\">\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__top-bar\"\/>\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__main-section\">\n<p class=\"newsletter-form__strapline\">The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Whether the team decide to take Kooij remains to be seen, but either way, Seixas is bound to be the focal point of this squad.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/teams-riders\/did-olav-kooij-punch-his-tour-de-france-ticket-with-his-win-at-baloise-belgium-tour-stage-4\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After having postponed the start of his season due to a lingering virus, Olav Kooij claimed three victories in a short time, starting with two stage wins at Boucles de la Mayenne at the end of May, and then added the stage 4 win at Baloise Belgium Tour on Saturday. Not only was the Decathlon [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":249289,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6804],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-249288","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249288\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/249289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}