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Dutch debutant Kooij wins Tour de France fifth stage in chaotic sprint finish
The Star
|July 09, 2026
DUTCH debutant Olav Kooij won the fifth stage of the Tour de France in a chaotic sprint finish after a crash just over five kilometres from the line.
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The 24-year-old beat German Max Kanter into second with Belgian Tim Merlier coming home in third as Norway's Torstein Traeen kept the race leader's yellow jersey despite being caught up behind the crash.
"I had to wait until this day to get this first chance to sprint in the Tour and to win it is unbelievable," said Kooij.
With the sprinters having had to wait until the fifth stage for their first chance for a bunch finish, there was understandably some extra tension in the peloton in the run in.
Several riders went down in the spill with just over 5km to ride, with Dutchman Alex Molenaar seemingly the worst affected.
However, dozens of riders were slowed up by the crash and found themselves desperately trying to chase down a charging peloton.
This story is from the July 09, 2026 edition of The Star.
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