The marquee signing of Decathlon CMA CGM's big-money makeover, Kooij left Visma-Lease a Bike after years of waiting for a Tour de France ticket that never came. A virus wrecked his spring, but wins at the Boucles de la Mayenne and the Baloise Belgium Tour confirmed the Dutch fastman arrives in Barcelona at full gallop. The team has made the green jersey its 'strong and symbolic goal' — and built him a bespoke lead-out to deliver it.
Palmarès
- 3x Giro d'Italia stage winner (2024 Naples; 2025 Viadana & Rome)
- Cyclassics Hamburg winner (2024)
- 2 stage wins Paris-Nice (2024)
- 8th Milan-San Remo (2025)
- Stage wins at Boucles de la Mayenne and Baloise Belgium Tour (2026)
Cut-out factIn 2021 he became the first teenager ever handed a full-season contract by Jumbo-Visma's WorldTour squad — and he repaid Visma with a Giro win on the final stage in Rome before leaving.
The squad
Riding the 2026 Tour with Tiesj Benoot, Daan Hoole, Paul Seixas, Matthew Riccitello, Nicolas Prodhomme, Aurélien Paret-Peintre, Cees Bol — see the full Decathlon CMA CGM team page.
Portrait: AI paper-collage render (gpt-image-2).
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