Olav Kooij sprints to 1st Tour de France stage win

Field Level Media|published: Wed 8th July, 12:53 2026

Olav Kooij celebrates winning Stage 5 of the 2026 Tour de France ahead of Max Kanter and Tim Merlier on July 8.

Olav Kooij of the Netherlands won Stage 5 of the Tour de France on Wednesday as Norway's Torstein Traeen held on to the overall leader's yellow jersey.

Kooij, 24, finished the flat, 158-kilometer sprint from Lannemezan to Pau in 3 hours, 29 minutes and 7 seconds. It was the first stage win for the Dutchman and the first for his Decathlon CMA CGM team since 2023.

Germany's Max Kanter finished the stage in second place and Belgium's Tim Merlier was third.

Traeen, 30, was caught in a late crash and finished 14 seconds behind the leaders on Wednesday. He maintained his 28-second overall advantage against American Sean Quinn.

The Czech Republic's Mathias Vacek is in third place and four-time and defending champion Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia is fourth, followed by two-time winner Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark.

Thursday's Stage 6 heads into the Pyrenees, a mountainous 186.2-kilometer trek from Pau to Gavarnie-Gedre.

--Field Level Media

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