Early in the Danish classic, five riders broke away from the peloton. However, thanks to the controlling work of teams including Team Visma | Lease a Bike, the breakaway was reeled back in during the closing kilometers. Just as the final lap began, disaster struck for Kooij as he was caught up in a major crash, ending his hopes of sprinting for victory.

“Fortunately, Olav is okay,” team director Jesper Mørkøv said afterwards. “He did not suffer any serious injuries, just some abrasions. But it was quickly clear that he would not be able to rejoin the peloton to contest the sprint, as the pace was extremely high.”

Despite being unable to compete for the win, Mørkøv was still pleased with his team’s performance. “I think we rode well as a team all day. Attila (Valter) did a lot of work at the front and in the finale Niklas (Behrens) and Loe (Van Belle) kept Olav well positioned. It is just unfortunate that Olav could not sprint for the victory because of the crash.”