02/10/2024

Taco van der Hoorn takes first victory in nearly two and a half years at Elfstedenrace 2024 after stunning late attack

Taco van der Hoorn of Intermarché - Wanty has emerged victorious at Elfstedenrace 2024. An emotional moment for the Dutchman, who gets back to winning ways for the first time in nearly two and a half years.

Heading into the final 20km, the race was split all over the place. A leading group of 5, that included Christophe Laporte, Taco Van der Hoorn, Elmar Reinders, Lionel Taminiaux and Jelte Krijnsen had a small advantage over the chasers, but the wind was making things difficult to close the gap. Also, with many of the big teams were represented, the impetus of the chase wasn't fully there.

Although the gap was being steadily kept at around 20 seconds, the chase simply couldn't close it. Inside the final 10km though, the chasers' efforts were then damaged again by a crash. As the leaders began to play games, it wasn't all over just yet. At 3km to go, Van der Hoorn fired away solo from the break. The Dutchman was still clear inside the last kilometre too and despite accelerations coming from behind, it was too late as Van der Hoorn took victory ahead of Krijnsen and Laporte.