The Intermarque Wantigobert rider, a member of the day's first seven-man breakaway group, managed to break away from the peloton as the pack swelled to 17 riders in a move that was considered a race winner, with strong riders like Tiesj Benoot, Tom Pidcock and Caspar Asgreen They survived the turbulence of the day.
But when the pack caught up with less than 20km to go, Van der Hall attacked in a trio with Christophe Laporte and Honatan Narvaez.
"With 50 meters to go, second, nice! I thought. Van der Hoorn told reporters after the race that he would not be able to compete with Laporte's fast finish. But then they came and I thought, "Oh shoot."
Van der Hoorn also admitted that preparations for the race had been planned two to three months in advance.
"Already in December or November we were planning to go into the break here, to follow the first group. I was thinking about getting into Hill's zone, maybe 10 or 20 people coming up to me and running to the finals. That's why I didn't run yesterday, I've had the plan for a long time."
"It went pretty well, but in the end I didn't get the result," concluded the surprisingly upbeat Dutch rider.
Dressed in his time trial speedo, aero helmet, overshoes, and mitts, the Dutch rider stood atop his Cube Retaining aerobike with the bars facing inward and talked about the tactics he had been planning for months.
"We did aerodynamic tests on Monday and Tuesday. We ran with this setup from the start and that was the plan."
The Dutch rider also revealed that he is a fan of former pro rider and world hour record holder Graeme Aubry and admitted to having a picture of Aubry in his home.
Obree is famous for his innovative approach to the sport, regularly discovering new, more aerodynamic positions and equipment, and has even clashed with the UCI rule book. Van der Hoorn, on the other hand, is also friends with Jan-Willem van Schip, who has a similar reputation as Obree. He has previously made headlines for his use of thin handlebars and wild Speeco concept bars.
It is clear that van der Hoorn shares the same innovative mindset; he even went so far as to tape up the vents in his helmet when he won the third stage of the 2021 Giro d'Italia from a long-distance breakaway group.
Things may not have gone his way today, but with the spring classics underway and the chance to ride even longer distances, others may think twice before putting him on an early breakaway.
"It was an incredible performance to be able to react to Narvaez and Laporte's attacks, even after such a long day at the front. The win was within reach and that's what we were going for." [It was really frustrating when the peloton caught me with 50 meters to go. I want to recover well for the next "red cross", Le Samyn."
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