Olav Kooij surged to victory on the fourth stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico, overcoming harsh weather and a tough course to claim his first win of the 2025 edition. The weather conditions, which included crosswinds and rain, wreaked havoc on the peloton, but the Visma-Lease a Bike sprinter fought through adversity to secure his place at the front in Trasacco.
The stage, which saw many sprinters distanced early on, was a test of both physical strength and tactical acumen. Kooij, after briefly falling behind in the crosswinds, fought his way back to the lead group and held his ground in the final sprint. He outpaced Rick Pluimers of Tudor Pro Cycling and Mathieu van der Poel of Alpecin-Deceuninck in the final meters to claim the win.
Thursday’s stage was one of the toughest of the race, featuring two early climbs that caused significant splits in the peloton. The field was further fractured by unpredictable crosswinds and rain. Despite these challenges, two riders from the day’s early breakaway—Mark Donovan (Q36.5) and Roger Adrìa (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)—managed to hold off the peloton until just 500 meters from the finish line. Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers), who retained the race lead, finished seventh on the stage.
Reflecting on his victory, Kooij expressed satisfaction with his performance. “We really fought for it,” he said. “I thought I made it over the climb, because we set the pace there to keep the break close, but on the plateau, we were surprised a bit by echelons. That set us on the back foot. Sometimes I thought we would come back, and other times I didn’t really believe anymore, but the guys did great work, and once I was back, I knew I had to switch on and go for it.”
Kooij also acknowledged the setback of his illness during the UAE Tour but emphasized the importance of his strong restart at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. “I was looking forward to this race. I did it once before, but I wanted to win a stage here as well. I’m super happy that after a hard fight today, I got it.”
When asked about his future goals, particularly his ambition to target stages at the Giro d’Italia later this year, Kooij said, “We see race by race and I will try to do my best. The goal was to win a stage, and after a fight like this today, I’m really happy to do it.”
The Race Dynamics
From the start, the day promised chaos, with bad weather predicted and a classified climb straight out of the gate. Early breakaway riders Mark Donovan (Q36.5) and Roger Adrìa (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) established a lead, with Adrìa claiming the points atop Forca della Civita. However, they were soon caught.
The first real break of the day came after the next climb, an unclassified ascent, with Jonas Rutsch (Intermarché-Wanty), Jorge Arcas (Movistar), Mirco Maestri (Polti-VisitMalta), Gijs Leemreiz (Picnic-PostNL), and William Blume Levy (Uno-X Mobility) pushing ahead. They formed a breakaway that held its ground for much of the stage.
The Valico La Crocetta climb proved too difficult for several sprinters, including Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), Sam Bennett (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), and Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco AlUla). Maestri was first to summit the climb. As the race continued, crosswinds played a significant role, with Ineos Grenadiers putting pressure on the pack. By 43 kilometers to go, riders such as Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step) and Derek Gee (Israel-Premier Tech) were distanced.
Despite the challenges, the breakaway held strong, and with 15 kilometers to go, the chase group, including Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) and Mathieu van der Poel, launched an attack. Healy made a second move, bridging the gap to the breakaway, and the remaining riders were eventually reeled in just before the flamme rouge.
Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) made the first move in the final sprint but was overtaken by Van der Poel, Pluimers, and Kooij, who claimed the win in the final 400 meters.
Results
Tirreno Adriatico 2025 – Stage 4: Norcia > Trasacco (190km)
- Olav Kooij (Ned), Visma-Lease a Bike – 4:48:05
- Rick Pluimers (Ned), Tudor Pro Cycling
- Mathieu van der Poel (Ned), Alpecin-Deceuninck
- Paul Magnier (Fra), Soudal Quick-Step
- Mirco Maestri (Ita), Polti-VisitMalta
- Andrea Vendrame (Ita), Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale
- Filippo Ganna (Ita), Ineos Grenadiers
- Tom Pidcock (GBR), Q36.5 Pro Cycling
- Giovanni Lonardi (Ita), Polti-VisitMalta
- Filippo Fiorelli (Ita), VF Group-Bardiani CDS-Faizanè
General Classification After Stage 4
- Filippo Ganna (Ita), Ineos Grenadiers – 16:14:00
- Juan Ayuso (Esp), UAE-Team Emirates-XRG, +22s
- Antonio Tiberi (Ita), Bahrain Victorious, +29s
- Derek Gee (Can), Israel-Premier Tech, +34s
- Mattia Cattaneo (Ita), Soudal-Quick Step, +36s
- Kévin Vauquelin (Fra), Arkéa-B&B Hotels, +41s
- Eddy Dunbar (Ire), Jayco-AlUla, +44s
- Laurens De Plus (Bel), Israel-Premier Tech, +45s
- Ben Healy (Ire), EF Education-EasyPost, +48s
- Romain Grégoire (Fra), Groupama-FDJ, at same time
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