Historic victory for Taco van der Hoorn in the Giro d’Italia

The peloton of the Giro d’Italia started the third stage in the rain. On the programme this Monday was a 190-kilometre crossing of the Piedmont region from Biella to Canale in the northwest of the country. Four climbs spread over the last 70 kilometres offered the prospect of an uncertain stage.

After 5 kilometres, eight men started the first breakaway attempt. Among them was Dutchman Taco van der Hoorn, who had already excelled at the front this season at Milan-San Remo and the E3 Classic. This group had accumulated a maximum lead of 6:30 minutes after one hour of racing.

When it came to the first climb of Piancanelli after 120 km, the lead had dropped to 3 minutes. Van der Hoorn made a good impression at the front, saved his energy and did not take part in the fight for the mountain jersey. In the climb of Castino 45 km before the finish, the breakaway group lost two riders, while the peloton had come back to 2 minutes. The breakaway quickly reached the penultimate climb of Manera. At the end of the long descent to the fourth climb of Guarene, 20 kilometres before the finish, the peloton was back to within one minute. Van der Hoorn and Pellaud (Androni) took advantage of this moment and distanced themselves from the rest of the breakaway group. With 10 kilometres to go, Taco van der Hoorn started his attack and broke away from Pellaud. The peloton was only 30 seconds behind with 5 kilometres to go. In the end, the Dutchman was able to keep his pursuers at bay and he reached the finish in Canale alone. He took the first win of the season for Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux in the Belgian team’s very first Giro and thus also the first in a Grand Tour.

Thanks to the 12th and 13th places of Quinten Hermans and Andrea Pasqualon, Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux finished first in the team classification for the second time in a row.

“It’s just unbelievable! To be honest, I can’t believe it. I won a stage of the Giro, something I never dreamed of. The last kilometre was very technical with several left turns. I looked back under the flamme rouge and then felt that I could win. I took the bend with the necessary caution and then enjoyed the home straight. Three years ago, I suffered a severe concussion after a fall. I had to hang up the bike for eight months. My career was hanging by a thread at that time. That was also the case at the end of last season, when I was without a contract. But I persisted and finally I got my chance at Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux. The team offered me a great environment and I’m glad I was able to reward them with this win. I like working with this team, the atmosphere in the group is fantastic. A win has been a long time coming and now we have it. We deserved it.”

Taco van der Hoorn

Stage 3:

• 1. Taco van der Hoorn
• 2. Davide Cimolai +4
• 3. Elia Viviani
• 12. Quinten Hermans
• 13. Andrea Pasqualon
• 64. Rein Taaramäe
• 90. Jan Hirt
• 134. Simone Petilli +9:36
• 174. Wesley Kreder +14:06
• 176. Riccardo Minali

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