"I saw him, and I got really angry. I was like, you want to fight, right?" - How an Astana rider's punch in Roubaix almost led to a fight in Calpe
Cycling
It is not frequent in the peloton, however it happens more often than the TV cameras capture it. At the 2024 Paris-Roubaix there was an instance where Daan Hoole was punched by XDS Astana Team's Yevgeniy Fedorov, and when the two saw each other again this time in a training ride during Spain, it almost led to a brawl.
The Lidl-Trek rider shared in the shared in the Live Slow Ride Fast podcast with Laurens Ten Dam and Stefan Bolt that during the 2024 edition of Paris-Roubaix (won by Mathieu van der Poel), where he was racing in support of Mads Pedersen, he was part of a heated moment with Fedorov. This happened in a corner where the two were fighting for position in the peloton.
“After that corner, he just got really angry, and he hit me hard in the ribs. Just a punch. It wasn’t on camera, otherwise I think he would’ve been taken out of the race," he explained. However nothing came of it in the moment: “I was more like, I have to hold the wheel. I’m going to ride the finale in Roubaix".
However, the unlikely scenario of the two meeting during a training ride happened then in Calpe, Spain, only weeks after Roubaix. Fedorov was at a cafe with teammates whilst Daan Hoole rode by and saw him, which then rehashed the dispute.
“I saw him, and I got really angry. I was like, you want to fight, right? Let’s fight, come". Perhaps that did not happen because of a language barrier that existed, with Hoole saying that Fedorov had a teammate translate what Hoole was saying, but the situation didn't escalate from there onwards.
Hoole's story is to then be taken with a grain of salt, as it solved itself without any major confrontation or decisive action. Rather, it was a situation that didn't evolve from there, and later on was turned around with the help of Fedorov's teammate and compatriot Alexey Lutsenko who also rode for Astana at the time.
“After that, in [the Tour of] Guangxi, Alexey Lutsenko came up to me and said, 'hey you’re friends', and since then, he’s my mate," he joked. However the two have indeed settled their differences, as Hoole describes: “Now, when I say ‘left’ in the bunch, he lets me through," he added, with the two seeing each other often in 2025 when it came to battles for positioning during the flat races but specially the cobbled classics.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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