Decathlon’s Olav Kooij sprinted to victory in stage five of the Tour de France in Pau on Wednesday, justifying his team’s decision to bring him to the race alongside general classification contender Paul Seixas. It’s the 51st victory of the 24-year-old’s career, but his first at the sport’s biggest race. It’s Decathlon CMA CGM’s first sprint win at the Tour since 2004.Earlier, Lotto Intermarche’s Baptiste Veistroffer had attacked from the flag and spent 114 lonely kilometres at the front. There was a late move from British champion Fred Wright at the top of the only classified climb of the day, the Côte de Baleix. Wright was joined by Kasper Asgreen and Valentin Paret-Peintre but the sprinters’ teams hungrily closed down firstly that trio and then Veistroffer in the closing 20km.That set up the expected sprint in Pau, but not before a crash with 5.4km to go which split the bunch and meant that a smaller group contested the finale — and with fewer leadout men than expected. Even so, the likes of Mads Pedersen, Jasper Philipsen, Tim Merlier and Biniam Girmay were all there to contest the sprint. None of them, though, could handle Kooij’s raw speed as he won by two bike lengths.Yellow jersey Torstein Træen was involved in the late crash, but escaped with nothing worse than a grazed knee.Jacob Whitehead and Duncan Alexander analyse the stage.Kooij’s pace justifies his selection after illnessOlav Kooij bellowed as he crossed the line; a scream that felt involuntary, necessary, and symbolic of his past six months.The 24-year-old is one of the quickest men in the peloton, developed by Visma-Lease a Bike and the first ever teenager to receive a full season contract from the Dutch squad. He was a young phenom.Frequently, however, his pathway was blocked by Visma’s understandable focus on Jonas Vingegaard and his general classification ambitions, leaving the sprinter fighting for scraps. In many ways, that is what the peloton’s fast men risk life and limb to do — and Kooij consistently performed when called upon.However, having never ridden the Tour de France during his career, Kooij ended up searching for more opportunities — joining Decathlon CMA CGM as their prime sprinting option, readied for this year’s Tour while talented French climber Paul Seixas developed.No-one could match Kooij’s speed in the closing metres (JASPER JACOBS / BELGA MAG / AFP via Getty Images)In reality, Seixas’ development outstripped all expectations — while Kooij struggled to overcome a stubborn early season virus during his first months with the team. It immediately left him on the outside looking in — and only form found in late May secured his place in the Tour squad.The compromise, however, was that he had just two leadout men in Cees Bol and Daan Hoole, with the team predominantly built around Seixas. Compared to Jasper Philipsen, Tim Merlier, and Mads Pedersen, his absence from the 2026 season left him coming into the Tour somewhat under the radar.