"At the moment I am not yet a professional cyclist" - Taco van der Hoorn continues to struggle with concussion suffered at 2024 Tour fo Flanders

Taco van der Hoorn has not been able to race for more than a year now. The Dutchman from Intermarché - Wanty suffered a concussion in a fall at the 2023 Tour of Flanders and that injury still doesn't allow him to train properly, let alone return to racing.

"I have been trying to return for a year and follow the doctors' advice. If you are still not completely healthy, it is frustrating," said the 30-year-old rider in an interview with Sporza. "It also hurts that I still can't race, which is what I love to do."

Van der Hoorn is now back on his bike. However, if he makes too long rides, he feels 'a kind of brain fog' afterwards. He then has difficulty concentrating and subsequently gets a headache. Currently he can pedal for about an hour and a half at a time. "But you can't call it training yet. Rather, it is a cycle ride. Of course, racing again is what I want most. But at the moment I am not yet a professional cyclist."

Will he ever be that way again? "The doctors are very confident that I will come back. But they can't say yet when that will be. Things can suddenly happen very quickly. I hope that things will improve step by step in the coming months so that I can race again this season."