{"id":430863,"date":"2026-02-17T19:00:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T19:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/430863\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T19:00:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T19:00:14","slug":"it-will-be-me-robbe-and-cees-olav-kooijs-lead-out-train-is-being-fine-tuned-for-the-tour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/430863\/","title":{"rendered":"“It will be me, Robbe and Cees” Olav Kooij\u2019s lead-out train is being fine-tuned for the Tour"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last season began with a victory in his very first race of the year and ended with his departure from the team that had been his home for the past five years. Dutch rider Daan Hoole<\/a> left the American Lidl-Trek to join the French Decathlon CMA CGM Team<\/a>.The decision, however, was far from simple. Speaking to DirectVelo<\/a>, he admitted that he went through a long period of reflection before making the final move. \u201cI doubted my choice for a long time,\u201d he confessed.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd maybe even after making my decision, I still doubted it at times. It\u2019s a really great team and I felt very good there. I had a very good relationship with everyone on the team. But it also felt like a new step to move on. Once the decision is made, you have to fully commit to it.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nA luxury lead-out train for Olav Kooij<\/p>\n

What ultimately convinced him was the sense of structural growth and ambition within the French outfit. In early discussions, the Dutch rider found clear signs of professional and development. \u201cIn the discussions, they showed they are a very professional team. I think over the past few years they\u2019ve progressed enormously, becoming stronger and stronger,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

When comparing his new team to the one he rode for in recent seasons, he sees clear parallels in their trajectory. \u201cI think they are on a similar path, with a clear positive trend: better sponsors, a better budget and better riders every year. And now I\u2019m part of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Daan<\/p>\n

Daan Hoole at the 2024 Paris-Roubaix\u00a0<\/p>\n

Within the new structure, his role is well defined, particularly in supporting the team\u2019s lead sprinter. The Dutch rider will be part of Olav Kooij\u2019s lead-out train<\/a>, in a system built on organisation and flexibility.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn order, it will be me, Robbe and Cees. The two can switch roles sometimes. We\u2019ll have to bring him as close as possible to the final kilometre,\u201d he explained, describing the setup designed to underpin Decathlon\u2019s sprint ambitions.<\/p>\n

Paris-Roubaix is the main target<\/p>\n

The season will begin with a slight delay for the Dutch sprinter, who was affected by a virus that disrupted the start of his preparation. Even so, the objectives are clearly defined.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first goal will be to succeed with the sprint train. Then, in the Classics, I want to go as far as possible to try to get results or help my teammates achieve them. Paris-Roubaix will be the big target. The Tour de France with Olav will also be very important.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last season began with a victory in his very first race of the year and ended with his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":430864,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,137353,117520,101,119130,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-430863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-cycling","tag-daan-hoole","tag-decathlon-cma-cgm-team","tag-sports","tag-uae-tour","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430863","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=430863"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430863\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/430864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=430863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=430863"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=430863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}