Intermarché-Wanty introduced a two-year extension with well-liked Dutch rider Taco van der Hoorn on Wednesday.
Van der Hoorn, winner of a stage within the Giro d’Italia and one-day races equivalent to Omloop van het Houtland and the Brussels Biking Traditional, will stay with the group via 2026.
The 31-year-old has spent 16 months on the sidelines recovering from a extreme concussion sustained within the 2023 Tour of Flanders and eventually returned to racing this August. He claimed his first victory since his mind harm within the Betcity Elfstedenrace in October from a breakaway.
The group’s Efficiency Supervisor Aike Visbeek stated the group missed him throughout his prolonged absence.
“Taco van der Hoorn is certainly one of our hottest personalities, a rider who’s admired by the followers for his aggressive racing type,” Visbeek stated. “Along with Biniam Girmay, Louis Meintjes, Simone Petilli, Lorenzo Rota and Georg Zimmermann, he varieties the core of the group on which we construct our id since our accession to the World Tour in 2021.
“Taco units an instance, he evokes his teammates together with his temperament and good temper, which is why we missed him a lot throughout his lengthy absence. Upon his return in August, he was instantly able to carry out and managed to keep up this degree till the tip of the season. We’re very blissful to have the ability to depend on him once more within the coming seasons. Collectively, we are going to proceed looking victories, particularly within the classics.”
Van der Hoorn was a relative latecomer to the WorldTour, signing with Jumbo-Visma in 2019 on the age of 25, following a profitable season with Roompot that included a stage win within the BinckBank Tour.
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He joined Intermarché in 2021 and racked up three wins that 12 months together with his Giro d’Italia stage win the place he held off the chasing peloton by a mere 4 seconds after being within the breakaway from kilometre zero.
Van der Hoorn got here inside millimetres of a Tour de France stage win in 2022, being narrowly out-paced by Simon Clarke from a five-man escape. He regarded set for one more shot at a victory within the Grand Excursions in 2023 till his crash within the Tour of Flanders left him with a critical concussion.
Together with his lengthy street to restoration over, Van der Hoorn stated he has confidence sooner or later.
“It’s tough to summarize all of the progress revamped the previous eighteen months, however I hope that my expertise can serve for example for anybody going via a darkish interval,” the affable Dutch rider stated. “I’ve chosen to proceed my profession with Intermarché-Wanty, as we share the identical imaginative and prescient.
“My private ambition suits completely with the group’s goals. I benefit from the full confidence of the sports activities administrators within the races during which I consider I’ve an excellent probability of reaching an excellent efficiency. Furthermore, due to the great ambiance within the group, I at all times have an excellent time racing, which is a crucial issue for me.
“Lastly, we now have very aggressive gear. I really feel concerned with it and I really feel listened to within the growth of our gear. I share the identical imaginative and prescient as our Head of Tools Mikey van Kruiningen, at all times searching for to push the boundaries along with our technical companions.”
