Tour of Britain 2023 stage 4: Olav Kooij wins his fourth straight stage(Image credit: SWPix)
Tour of Britain 2023 stage 4: Olav Kooij wins his fourth straight stage(Image credit: SWPix)
Tour of Britain stage winner Olav Kooij(Image credit: SWPix)
Abram Stockman and Harry Tanfield of Team TDT Unibet Cycling in the breakaway(Image credit: SW Pix)
James Fouche (Bolton Equities Black Spoke (Wearing the Pinarello King of the Mountains Jersey), Abram Stockman of Team TDT Unibet Cycling in the breakaway(Image credit: SW Pix)
Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma)(Image credit: SW Pix)
Stage 4 of the Tour of Britain(Image credit: SW Pix)
Stage 4 of the Tour of Britain(Image credit: SW Pix)
The start in Sherwood Forest had a Robin Hood theme. Tom Pidcock played along(Image credit: SW Pix)
Team DSM with their Robin Hood hats(Image credit: SW Pix)
Olav Kooij (Jumbo-Visma) took a record breaking fourth sprint win at the Tour of Britain after another textbook lead out from teammate turned domestique Wout Van Aert in Newark-on-Trent.
Jumbo-Visma took the wrong line around a fast left turn with four kilometres to go and so Van Aert was forced to make an effort to position Kooij but the WorldTeam were again dominant and soon moved up to the front.
Kooij lost Van Aert's wheel but dived under a rider with a kilometre to go to get back to the sweep spot for the sprint.
The Belgian then came off Nathan Van Hooydonck's wheel, hurt the other sprinters with a long lead out, meaning Kooij only had to kick away in the final 150 metres to win yet again and set a Tour of Britain win record.
Casper van Uden (Team dsm-firmenich) was second, with Ethan Vernon (Great Britain) third.
"You never get used to winning, it's always nice but also always difficult in sprints," Kooij said.
"Again the control by the guys was really good. We lost a rider in the final kilometres but we still managed to pull it off. The guys we have here are proven. They know what to do, they've got the experience and the power."
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Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
