For the first time since 2004, the Tour of Holland is back.

Six stages featuring sprints, hills, time trials and gravel will take the riders through the Netherlands, starting on Tuesday in The Hague and finishing on Sunday in Arnhem. It’s a great opportunity for Team Visma | Lease a Bike to race in front of home crowds – and a spectacular way to end the season.

“It’s very good news for cycling in the Netherlands that we now have a race like this again after 20 years of absence. We are very excited to race here, and we’re bringing a squad with a mix of experienced riders and younger guys. It will be six days of hard racing,” sports director Arthur van Dongen says.

The lineup is spearheaded by Olav Kooij, Christophe Laporte and Bart Lemmen. For Kooij, the Tour of Holland will be his last race for the team, and a chance to finish off a memorable season with a big result on home soil. The Dutch sprinter has been dealing with illness in the lead-up, but now feels ready to go all out again after racing Paris–Tours last Sunday.

“I’m looking forward to the Tour of Holland. It’s pretty exciting to have a new race in the Netherlands, and I’ll be enjoying my last race in black and yellow in my home country. I want to make it a good ending,” the Dutchman says.

Although known for his fast finish, Kooij has also proved himself a capable climber multiple times, with podiums on the VAM-Berg and in the Bretagne Classic. A top-five overall finish in this year’s Renewi Tour also raises the question of whether Kooij can fight for the general classification, but that’s still too early to say, Van Dongen remarks.

“After the second time trial, we’ll know a lot more about the GC. Olav is a sprinter with a big engine, but we have to see how much time he loses against the clock. Otherwise, Christophe Laporte and Bart Lemmen are full of motivation, and they’re also capable time trialists.”

Besides the two time trials, Van Dongen highlights the hilly days in Limburg and on the VAM-Berg as potential key stages. The gravel on the final stage in Arnhem and the relatively short length of the stages also encourage aggressive racing, which could turn the race on its head. For Olav Kooij, however, it’s one step at a time.

“It would be nice to get a stage win. That’s my personal goal. But we also have a strong team here with Bart and Christophe, so hopefully we can get a good result overall too,” Kooij adds.

Kooij is by no means the only rider on the team for whom a strong end to the season would mean a lot. For Laporte, 2025 has been a year marred by illness, but a solid autumn program and podium places in Binche–Chimay–Binche and Paris-Tours have once again proved the Frenchman’s quality.

“It’s been a tough year, but I feel like I’m back on track now. I needed some time to train and get back in shape, and I’m finally getting closer to my top form, even though I’m not quite there yet. It’s important to finish the season on a good note so I can take the confidence into the winter and next year,” Laporte reflects.

The Tour of Holland would normally be a race very well suited to Laporte, who thrives in the classics-style terrain many of the stages offer. A return to the VAM-Berg, where he won the European Championships ahead of Wout van Aert and Olav Kooij in 2023, also brings back good memories. Overall, Laporte is just happy to add as many race days as possible before the winter break, though there’s one thing that would make the end of the season even sweeter.

“It’s really nice to add an extra six days of racing, and there are definitely some hard stages that I like. I would love to get a win before the winter break, and if I get that, maybe I’ll also look at the general classification,” Laporte concludes.