In recent weeks, the Dutchman has been preparing for the Giro near the Spanish town of Denia, together with teammates Affini, Uijtdebroeks and Laporte. "So far, everything is going well. I took a rest after the spring classics and then slowly built back up towards the Giro. That has definitely helped me," said Kooij.

This Tour of Italy offers not only chances for climbers, but also opportunities for sprinters. "I see around six to seven chances for myself. If I look very optimistically maybe even eight," Kooij says. A nice number that besides the Dutchman has enticed many other top sprinters to start in Italy. "It is a very nice and strong field of participants. It won't be easy, but I believe I can beat them. My stage victory in the UAE Tour is a nice proof of that," Kooij explains.

The rider from Team Visma | Lease a Bike will have to sprint without Wout van Aert, who crashed in Dwars door Vlaanderen a month ago. Van Aert would have acted as Kooij's last man in the flat sprints and gone his own way in the trickier stages. "It is of course incredibly frustrating that he cannot be there. Both for him, for me and the team. We were looking forward to this moment and had made a goal out of this Giro. But is is what it is," said the Dutchman.

The Belgian will be replaced in the Giro selection by Christophe Laporte. A rider who can also handle the lead-out role superbly. "Christophe is an experienced rider who knows what to do. Someone you can absolutely count on. We have already achieved great results together," Kooij is positive.

Kooij has been part of Team Visma | Lease a Bike since 2020. The young Dutchman joined the Development team in 2020 and one year later already transitioned to the WorldTour team. The opportunity to make his grand tour debut in this Giro at the age of 22 makes Kooij happy and proud. "Great that I can start at the Giro with this team. I have always felt very good here and together we have already shown some great things. Year after year, I can take big steps here in all aspects of the sport. I knew this year's Giro would be my first grand tour and I am looking forward to it immensely," the sprinter gloats.

Want to read more about our ambitions for the Giro? Click here for the interview with our sports director Marc Reef. In an extensive interview, he looks forward to the goals of the team and the preparation towards it.

Besides Kooij, Team Visma | Lease a Bike has another rider making his debut in the Giro, namely Cian Uijtdebroeks. The Belgian finished eighth in last year's Vuelta and now hopes to bring out his best climbing legs in the Tour of Italy. Find out now here what he had to say!