Kooij claims hat-trick of Tour of Britain stage wins

Sep 6, 2023 08:29 AM

At a glance

Dutch rider Olav Kooij made it three wins from three stages at the Tour of Britain on Tuesday, Sept. 5, edging another sprint finish.

LONDON (AFP) -- Dutch rider Olav Kooij made it three wins from three stages at the Tour of Britain on Tuesday, Sept. 5, edging another sprint finish.

Jumbo-Visma's Dutch rider Olav Kooij celebrates as he crosses the line to win at the finish of the opening stage of the Tour of Britain cycle race in Manchester, north west England on Sunday, Sept. 3. (AFP)

Kooij held off the challenge of compatriot Danny van Poppel and Britain's Ethan Vernon on the 154.7 kilometer race from Goole to Beverley in Yorkshire to match Edvald Boasson Hagen's achievement of winning three successive stages in the 2009 event.

He once again had Jumbo-Visma teammate Wout van Aert to thank for leading him into position to strike for home.

Kooij leads the general classification standings ahead of Van Poppel and Germany's Max Kanter.

However, there is no time difference between the top 56 riders in the overall standings.

Wednesday's fourth stage runs over 166.6 km from Sherwood Forest to Newark.

Stage three

1. Olav Kooij (NED/TJV) 3hr 25min 58sec, 2. Danny van Poppel (NED/BOH) same time, 3. Ethan Vernon (GBR/GBR), s.t., 4. Max Kanter (GER/MOV) s.t., 5. Rasmus Tiller (NOR/UXT) s.t.

Overall standings

1. Olav Kooij (NED/TJV) 9h 39 min 51sec, 2. Danny van Poppel (NED/BOH) same time, 3. Max Kanter (GER/MOV) s.t., 4. Ethan Vernon (GBR/GBR), s.t, 5. Wout van Aert (BEL/TJV) s.t.