The second stage of the ZLM Tour took place in the province of Limburg. Seven riders made an early breakaway. After the miscalculation in the first stage, the peloton kept the lead group within reach. With about 35 kilometres to go, the leaders were caught. The peloton then prepared for the first bunch sprint of the five-day race.

Kooij was boxed in several times on the winding roads leading into Buchten. As a result, the leader of Team Jumbo-Visma was not in the best position for the sprint. With a strong final jump, the young Dutchman held off several rivals. In the end, he was only beaten by the Italian Mareczko.

"Of course, you always want to win”, a disappointed Kooij said. "After the last corner, 800 metres from the finish, the peloton was stretched out. We knew we had to be at the front at that point, but we weren't. You try to stay calm, but somewhere you know it won't be easy. Ultimately, I still got close by starting my sprint early, but unfortunately, it wasn't enough.”

After finishing in the top ten in the prologue and the first stage, Kooij is the new leader of the ZLM Tour. He also leads the points and the youth classification. "It's always nice to wear the leader's jersey in a tour. We are certainly doing well this week, but we will do everything we can in the coming stages to get the stage win. Finishing second today is not nice, but being the leader of the general classification makes up for a lot.”