The European Championships in Belgium take place already within a month. Mathieu van der Poel will lead the team alongside Olav Kooij; and the national coach of the Netherlands has talked about the team’s ambitions there but also the reigning World Champion’s chances in Zurich later this season.
Mathieu van der Poel is a card for the cobbled sectors in the race, whilst Olav Kooij leads a strong leadout with the ambitions of a victory on that scenario. “Olav [Kooij] did very well last year at the European Championships on and around the VAM-berg. He had been sitting with a knee injury for a long time before the most recent national championships,” team coach Koos Moerenhout told Wielerflits. “It was a matter of waiting to see how he would handle the Tour of Poland. That test was very good, given his two stage victories. He is therefore preferred over Dutch champion Dylan Groenewegen.”
