Why Olav Kooij’s signature-edition helmet gave him a ‘tactical advantage’ in the stage 5 sprint

We’ve seen different coloured oversocks, gloves, bar tape and even chainstays deployed in team time trials so that riders can be instantly identified. Alex Dowsett is credited with inventing the tactic for Astana at Paris-Nice TTT last year, and now we’re seeing it in road stages. Dutchman Olav Kooij won the Tour’s first sprint stage wearing a Van Rysel RCR-F aero helmet with a galaxy mirror finish that was created to “reflect his sprinter's instinct”... designed to “shine in the chaos”.

It all sounds glib, but the polished punning of the press release, which is as shiny as the helmet itself, is backed up by a serious, down-to-earth quote from the team’s directeur sportif, Mark Renshaw, who was famously Mark Cavendish’s chief lead-out man and knows all about the sharp end of a race.

“Analysing the peloton from the car and informing the riders to regroup requires an immediate read on the race. With a special paint job, the goal is to spot Olav in a fraction of a second, even in the middle of 150 riders. It’s a real tactical performance tool we hope delivers an advantage.”

Kooij’s design, despite being reflective, is darker overall than the helmets of his team-mates – perhaps counterintuitively. The standard team helmet has the pale green, celeste-like colour, whereas Kooij’s is night sky-like with a scattering of coloured stars. But if it works for Renshaw and the rest of the riders, who’s arguing?

Kooij himself said of the design when it was unveiled before the Tour: “In a sprint, timing and positioning make all the difference in claiming victory. This helmet, with its unique design, gives me a lot of confidence, but above all, it allows Daan [Hoole] and Cees [Bol] to spot me in the blink of an eye when things get tense."

The Tour is famous for things getting tense right from the start, and Kooij noted during an interview afterwards that: “For this first sprint in the Tour, everybody is still really eager but I found the right wheel.”

Hoole admitted that Kooij had to find his own way through the peloton in the last kilometre with half of the Decathlon team assigned to GC leader Paul Seixas. Tucking in initially behind the Astana trio of Max Kanter, Mike Teunissen and Aaron Gate, he timed his sprint to absolute perfection, beating Kanter and Tim Merlier fairly comfortably, signature helmet or no signature helmet.

Kooij’s design – which he will wear on all three of the Van Rysel helmets (time trial, aero and vented) during the Tour – is not available to the public, but the helmets themselves of course are – visit Van Rysel’s website for all the details.