All for Olaf Quigg! The runner dots i-marks and skips a t in the final leg of the ZLM run

Sunday, June 11, 2023 at 4:39 PM

In the early sprint stages of the ZLM Tour, things didn’t go smoothly for Olaf Koeij and his Jumbo-Visma team, but on the final stage, it was a success for the young Dutchman. This time Kooij got a perfect lead from his teammates and managed to finish it off with a lively finish. The fast guy can also call himself (again) the overall winner of the ZLM Tour.

The ZLM Tour also finished today and had a final stage in North Brabant. Oosterhout formed the background for both the start and the finish line. With just 158.8 kilometres, the final stage was also the shortest ride in the ZLM Tour line. The course ran through Dongen, Vlijmen, Elshout and Dongen again, after which three more local courses had to be completed. The sprint at Oosterhout was – with the flat track in mind – written in the stars. Who was crowned the biggest winner of the Dutch Stage Race at this venue?

Three buyers
On the last leg of the ZLM Tour, it was a bit of a wait for the early flight. Despite some early failures, the race did not have a leading group after twenty kilometers in the saddle. Guillaume Visser (House of Cycling), Sam Gademan (Alink) and Leo Bouvier (Bike Aid) were luckier and secured space in the peloton. With Axel van der Tock (Metec-SOLARWATT) and Javier Serrano (EOLO-Kometa), two riders counterattacked, but it turned out that the Dutchman and Spaniard were giving chase and were soon caught by Churches again by the platoon.

Visser, Gidemann and Bouvier managed to gain a maximum lead of two minutes, but the three forwards were under no illusions. The sprinter’s teams were excited to get things back together, hoping for a final group on this ZLM Tour. As a result, the front runners’ lead fluctuated for two minutes and it turned out to be a piece of cake for the teams with a fast guy in the ranks to keep things in check. However, there was the necessary tension, and that also led to some falls.

Guillaume Visser was in the lead group – Image: Corfus

Multiple falls
With over a hundred kilometers on the clock, the peloton was shocked for the first time by crashes by Etienne van Embel, Tess de Lange, Mads Christensen and Iker Bonello, among others. However, these riders were able to continue on their way. On the other hand, Nick van der Leycke was less than happy: Rotterdam had to leave the race after an accident. A new accident about fifty kilometers from the finish caused the necessary wear on Cedric Breeze and Giulio Massuto, but fortunately these riders returned to their bikes after measuring the damage.

Visser, Gidemann and Bouvier, meanwhile, continued to work well together, but the peloton was closing fast and with 25 kilometers to go it was over for the three escapees. However, this was another moment for the other riders to get away from it all. Vincent Dorn witnessed the arrest of his colleague Bouvier and then chose to attack himself. He immediately made a gentle breach, but now the enemy squads had someone to chase after again. Dorn sold his skin dearly, and started the last lap of the thirteen kilometers with a leaden but seemingly birdy for the proverbial cat.

Photo: Cor Vos

Stage and final win for Kooij
It wasn’t long ago that sprinter teams swallowed Dorne, so we can prepare to sprint. Jumbo-Visma failed to lead his sprinter Olaf Koegg well in the early stages, but today the Dutchman could count on a perfect lead. Kooij started the race in an excellent position, started and won by force majeure. Kooij turned out to be the big winner at Oosterhout, as he also managed to secure the overall victory.