Taco van der Hoorn (Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij) could hear his voice wavering and so he paused to compose himself. That only made it worse. His shoulders began to shake as he wiped the tears from his eyes, and he held up a hand in apology for the interruption. One doesn`t anticipate quite this depth of emotion in the press room at the BinckBank Tour, but then Van der Hoorn`s is a story apart. Last November, Van der Hoorn suffered a head injury when he crashed on a mountain bike ride, and he would spend much of the next few months lying in a darkened room suffering from its lingering, disquieting effects. Trying to train was not only futile, but dangerous. Sustained efforts brought only headaches and confusion. Deep into the spring, the 24-year-old wondered if his career was over as a result of his concussion. It was only in June that Van der Hoorn was able to get back out on the road, and it was just last month that he resumed training in earnest. The Dutchman`s first semi-formal event came two days after the Tour de France finished, when he lined up at the criterium in Surhuisterveen. That evening, he was content to be overshadowed by the maillot jaune of Geraint Thomas, and simply relieved to feel like a bike rider again.ADVERTISEMENT On Wednesday, Van der Hoorn was more surprised than anyone to find himself in the leading break of five riders as stage 3 of the BinckBank Tour reached its conclusion in Antwerp. Inside the final kilometre, he lifted himself from the saddle and attacked. When he looked under his shoulder, he realised that nobody was on his wheel. Someway, somehow, he had landed the biggest win of his career within weeks of his lowest ebb. Small wonder he was lost for words. Perhaps sensing as much, Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij manager Erik Breukink accompanied Van der Hoorn to the winner`s press conference, and he served as spokesman until his rider regained his composure. `He`s very ambitious. He thinks about everything, he does everything, ...
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