Dutchman Olav Kooij won the first stage of the Tour of Britain in the sprint on Sunday in Manchester, just ahead of Belgian Wout van Aert, his partner from Jumbo-Visma, winner of the event in 2021.
Before the race, Van Aert had announced the color: he would aim for victory overall, as during his first participation two years ago, and he would do everything to help his teammate Kooij in the sprints.
The strategy worked at the end of the 161.6 km race between Altrincham and Manchester. Irish spinner Sam Bennett took third place.
Monday for the second stage, the few hundred runners in the running will complete a 110 km loop starting from Wrexham.
Clification of the 1st stage:
1. Olav Kooij (NED / Jumbo-Visma), the 163.6 km in 3 h 51:02
2. Wout van Aert (BEL/Jumbo-Visma) mt
3. Sam Bennett (IRL/Bora-Hansgrohe) mt
4. Max Kanter (GER/Movistar), mt
5. Ethan Vernon (GBRGreat-Britain), mt