Tour de France: Olav Kooij shines in debut with victory on stage 5 in Pau

PAU, FRANCE - JULY 08: Olav Kooij of Netherlands and Decathlon CMA CGM Team celebrates at finish line as stage winner during the 113th Tour de France 2026, Stage 5 a 158.3km stage from Lannemezan to Pau / #UCIWT / on July 08, 2026 in Pau, France. (Photo by Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Tour de France: Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM) wins stage 5 (Image credit: Getty Images)

Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM) proved the fastest finisher on the 2026 Tour de France's first sprint stage in Pau, sprinting home from a much-reduced group of fastman to take a stage win on his debut.

The Dutchman outpaced Max Kanter to the line after the German's XDS-Astana team controlled the lead-out in the final kilometre, while Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep) rounded out the podium in third place.

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Dani Ostanek
Senior News Writer

Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor, later being hired full-time. Her favourite races include the Tour de France Femmes, Paris-Roubaix, Tro-Bro Léon, and cycling's fourth Grand Tour, the Volta a Portugal.

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