“I’m pleased I could reward the team with this win,” Kooij said afterward. “Everyone contributed from the start. We executed our plan well, despite the chaos in the final kilometres. We briefly lost each other in the chaos, but I managed to move to the front at just the right moment. It’s the fourth year in a row I’ve won a stage here. I already had many positive memories of this race, so it’s great to add another one.”
