Taco van der Hoorn, who made a victorious return after sixteen months without competition, extended his contract with Intermarché-Wanty for two extra seasons. The master in long breakaways thus stays loyal to the team of Jean-François Bourlart until at least the end of 2026.
Since his arrival in 2021, the Dutchman stole the hearts of many cycling fans with his long breakaways. It was in this sensational way that in the Tour of Italy 2021, he took the first grand tour stage win for Intermarché-Wanty in Canale, before adding similar successes in the Benelux Tour and Omloop van het Houtland.
In 2022, Taco van der Hoorn continues to thwart the plans of the peloton and wins the Brussels Cycling Classic, and then flirts with the victory in his first Tour de France, defeated by only a couple of millimeters at the end of the cobble stage towards Arenberg. His work for his teammates was also noticed by the national coach, who selected him for the world championships in Wollongong.
After a new monster breakaway in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne that for a second year in a row almost resulted in a victory, 2023 seemed to be just as promising for Taco, until a bad crash in the Tour of Flanders. Victim of a severe concussion for the second time in his career, he was sidelined from competition for sixteen months while he recovered his full abilities.
Returning in August 2024 for the Tour of Leuven, Taco van der Hoorn displayed his eternal smile at the front of the race, accumulating 750 kilometers in breakaways during the Tour of Germany, the BEMER Cyclassics, the Tour of Guangxi, and the Elfstedenrace, which he won on October 2nd, securing his fifth victory in the colours of Intermarché-Wanty.
"I am very happy that I'm back at my best form and able to look to the future with confidence. It is difficult to summarize all the progress made over the past eighteen months, but I hope that my experience can serve as an example for anyone going through a dark period. I've chosen to continue my career with Intermarché-Wanty, as we share the same vision. My personal ambition fits perfectly with the team's objectives. I enjoy the full confidence of the sports directors in the races in which I believe I have a good chance of achieving a good performance. Moreover, thanks to the good atmosphere in the team, I always have a good time racing, which is an important factor for me. Finally, we have very competitive equipment. I feel involved with it and I feel listened to in the development of our equipment. I share the same vision as our Head of Equipment Mikey van Kruiningen, always seeking to push the limits together with our technical partners."
"Taco van der Hoorn is one of our most popular personalities, a rider who is admired by the fans for his aggressive racing style. Together with Biniam Girmay, Louis Meintjes, Simone Petilli, Lorenzo Rota and Georg Zimmermann he forms the core of the team on which we build our identity since our accession to the World Tour in 2021. Taco sets an example, he inspires his teammates with his temperament and good mood, which is why we missed him so much during his long absence. Upon his return in August, he was immediately ready to perform and managed to maintain this level until the end of the season. We are very happy to be able to count on him again in the coming seasons. Together, we will continue hunting victories, especially in the classics."
