Van Aert gives Kooij victory at the Almería Classic

Last year was nothing more than an anecdote, but it is true that Jumbo found it difficult to win back then. The drought did not last long, as at the end of February the victories began to fall like hotcakes with a Vingegaard marking the “Camiño” in Galicia. In 2024, the Visma looks like something different. If possible, more voracious. “I am motivated to win. I hope I can dedicate the victory to Vermeersch,” said Arnaud de Lie during the signature verification, thinking of his teammate who said goodbye to the season last Saturday after breaking his thigh at the Vuelta a Murcia. Visma did his thing and allowed himself the luxury of having a debutant Wout van Aert as a pitcher and the result could be nothing other than the success of his teammate Olav Kooij. In the Volata, the culmination of a four-hour exercise on the bike with an average speed of 45.88 km/h, the Dutchman won narrowly but sufficiently against Matteo Moschetti, who almost retained his title.

Minutes before 1 p.m., the voice of cycling, Juan Mari Guajardo, gave in to the proceedings with a loud: “Salidaaaa!” Inspired by this energy, six courageous men formed the breakaway group in the first stages of the race. They were Baptiste Vadic (TotalEnergies), Asier Pablo González and José María García (Illes Balears), Ander Okamika (Burgos-BH) and two real arsonists: Luis Ángel Maté (Euskaltel), who has not missed a break since the start of the AlUla Tour season, and Will Barta (Movistar), who was ready to repeat This performance led him to victory in the Valencian Community after a great battle with the peloton.

A frenetic ending

The initial hectic pace gave way to a tense calm over the next few hours of racing. Although the wind, more like a light breeze, would have no influence on the course of the test, a noticeable rain for a few minutes would. Thanks to the work of Visma, Lotto and Bora, the refugees’ income stopped growing after about five minutes. Kooij, De Lie and Meeus breathed relaxed before a huge sprint. Given this result, the question arose: what would Van Aert do? “I think Olav is our best chance if we can manage a sprint, so we will definitely bet on him. But it’s a one-day race so you never know. For me it is a good race to help the team and warm up for tomorrow (Jaén) and for the Algarve,” the Belgian explained to the media.with the presence of AS, in the minutes before neutralization.

Speaking of regrouping, the breakaways conquered the route’s four small climbs at the top. but upon arrival in Roquetas de Mar, where three laps of a circuit had to be completed to the finish line, the train was hot on their heels. Game over. 15 km from the finish there was a merger. Everything started again from the beginning. The sprinter teams went to the top, Titanic battle where every millimeter counts for leaving your trusted man in the best possible place for the start.

And traps arose in the form of bottlenecks, islands, roundabouts… All of them were masterfully overcome to the finish line, where a catastrophe could have happened. Manuel Peñalver lost his balance when he lightly touched the fences and fell violently to the ground, where he remained in pain for a few minutes. His bike flew through the air and hit a bystander in the face, who was treated as a precaution but with no serious consequences. Fortunately, Peñalver was also scared and was able to participate again. The result, which saw Van Aert hand Kooij victory on a silver platter, helped Visma debut its winning record in 2024. And this Monday double portion with Van Aert and Kuss in the Clásica Jaén. The show begins.