"I still have my good legs": Daan Hoole returns to the cobbles with a free role and a broken pinky

Daan Hoole was one of the riders who caught the eye in late February and early March. A late attack in stage two of Paris-Nice and a solo finish in the team time trial the following day had many sitting up and taking notice. Unfortunately, a massive crash at 70 km/h during stage 4 left him with a battered back and a fractured pinky finger. He did not need too much time to recover, as he already returned to competition on Friday at the E3 Saxo Classic.

The crash left Hoole with more than just a broken little finger. The tip was also scraped off, and the wound is still healing.

"There is still a bandage around it," he explained to Wieler Flits. "Not too thick, because otherwise it causes problems with shifting. But it is still sensitive because there is still a wound underneath. Luckily my knuckle is still intact, but it is going to leave me with a big scar. It is still unclear whether the nail will ever grow back. It won't look pretty, but nothing worse than that."

On top of that, he also hurt his back in the crash, was given painkillers in the ambulance, and then fell ill for a few days the following week. Once he recovered, though, the legs came back quickly. "After that I could actually train well again. Last week I did a heavy block because I wanted to make up for the week before. It is a shame I could not take my chance at the GP de Denain, but I can feel that I still have the good legs from Paris-Nice. That is a good sign."

Heading into Gent-Wevelgem, Hoole goes in without a specific protected role. Tobias Lund Andresen and Oliver Naesen are the designated leaders. "Up through Paris-Roubaix I have a free role," he said.

But he was quick to clarify what that actually means in practice. "That does not mean you can always just ride on or do your own thing. It depends on the situation and how Tobias rides. The team goes for the best result. We have to try to be there when Mathieu van der Poel and Mads Pedersen attack. After that we can always play the Tobias card."

Hoole is under no illusions about how difficult that is. "I find it a bit arrogant to say that I can do it. I have never done that before. But I would really love to be able to. I am curious about that. It has to be the goal at least."

He also has his eye on a few potential allies in the bunch. "If you could ride away with someone like Dylan van Baarle, who does not crack and is maybe not extremely explosive either, that would be ideal. Guys like Mathias Vacek, Mick and Tim van Dijke, Dylan - those are riders I will look up in the peloton on Friday and Sunday. If we are in the right position, we could give it a try together."

Despite everything, Hoole arrives at the start line full of belief. "I have a huge amount of confidence in it," he said. "But besides having good legs, there are so many other factors that come into play in classics like these. Positioning is so important, as is saving energy at the right moments. That is not something you just easily do. But I have confidence."