Daan Hoole reflects on Giro surprise after stunning growth – and jokes about "crazy earrings or hair color"

A day before stage 10 of the Giro d’Italia, Daan Hoole was aiming for a win, but few actually expected the Dutch time trial champion to pull it off. The towering Lidl-Trek powerhouse spent a long time in the hot seat, and thanks in part to late rain, no one managed to beat his time. That meant flowers, champagne, a medal, and a swarm of media for Hoole, who took it all in with a big smile. IDLProCycling rounds up everything you need to know.

“It really was a big goal. The first time trial (where Hoole placed sixth on stage 2, ed.) went really well, and I had a good feeling throughout the first week. So yes, I was definitely looking forward to it with confidence. It helps that there’s such a great atmosphere in the team, we’ve had so much success already. But I was focused anyway and super motivated.”

“I had good legs, so I thought, let’s see what that’s worth. I said I might need to do a little rain dance, although Tarling and Van Aert, who are dangerous riders, were still starting just after me, probably in dry conditions too. But if it does rain, you won’t hear me complaining, haha!”

“Incredible, I still can’t believe it. I’m full of emotion and just so happy. I want to thank so many people. I was targeting this day, but winning? I never expected that. The GC guys had rain, and that made a difference, but I’m still proud I was able to beat Tarling in the same conditions.”

“I didn’t expect this this morning, but of course I dreamed about it. I’m so happy and trying to enjoy it as much as I can. But it hasn’t really sunk in yet. I knew I had the form for a top 5 or top 10, but I wasn’t sure about winning. I surprised myself and I’m absolutely thrilled.”

“It feels surreal. This is something you dream about, winning a stage in the Giro… I never thought I’d actually achieve it, but now it’s real. It feels bizarre, truly unreal. The fact that I won in Pisa is kind of funny. I once attended my aunt’s wedding here, so it’s pretty special that I end up winning in the same place. I really love Italy, it’s such a beautiful country.”

“I’m really happy that Tarling had the same conditions as I did, and that I could show I really rode a strong time trial, not that I only won because the GC contenders had to deal with rain. It’s a bit unfortunate he got held up by that EF guy, that probably cost him a few seconds. But I won, and honestly, I don’t care if things might have turned out differently without that incident.”

“When I saw Tarling’s intermediate time, I thought, ‘There’s no way I can beat that.’ But I had a strong second half, and maybe he blew up a little. I think I made the difference on the climb, even though I started fast, I held something back for that section. In the final stretch, I went really fast too and was able to push some solid watts.”

“I didn’t spend much time looking at weather apps, I mostly tried to focus on the time trial itself. When I was sitting in the hot seat, I did ask about the conditions, but in the end, you want to win because you’re the fastest. The fact that the GC guys rode in the rain, that’s out of my control anyway.”

“I’m proud of what I’ve achieved, because in a time trial, it really comes down to you alone. I’ve been working on this for the past few years, and a lot of people told me I needed to believe in it. We put a lot of time into finding the best aerodynamic position. It’s an ongoing process where we’re always looking for new improvements.”

“We made quite a few adjustments to my position, which is especially important given my height. We’ve made a big step forward this year. We also do a lot of work on our skinsuit, together with our equipment manager Koen de Kort and Santini. I think we might even have the fastest suit of all.”

“This is my third Giro, and it’s always a tough race, because after the spring classics you need to recover, but at the same time prepare for the Giro. You’re racing against guys who’ve been preparing all year. So I slept at altitude for two and a half weeks and tried to stay mentally fresh as well.”

“We’ve won four of the ten stages, spent several days in the pink jersey, and Mads Pedersen is wearing the purple jersey. This Giro is just wild, we’ve got an incredible team. I’d really love to help Mathias Vacek get a stage win next, because he really deserves it. He rode a strong time trial but got caught in the rain, so the decision was made to ease off and lose time, maybe to give him a shot in a breakaway tomorrow.”

“We have such a strong team, and while we’ve had more budget to bring in stronger riders thanks to Lidl, guys like Ciccone and Pedersen have already been with the team for a while. They keep improving every year, and with the right people behind the scenes and a great team spirit, we just keep getting better. We’re at a really high level now, and we’ve got the leaders to win, plus a group of guys who genuinely want to help deliver those victories.”

“Yeah, Simone and Jonathan (Consonni and Milan, ed.) called me afterward. I rode the Giro with them last year, and we made some great memories. It was really special that they called me, they’re super happy for me. They’re up in Sierra Nevada now preparing for the Tour de France. They told me to enjoy the moment. They’re good friends.”

“Will someone be shaving their head? Haha, no one placed a bet on me winning, one was maybe a bit unexpected. But there are a few bets going around for this Giro, so don’t be surprised if someone suddenly shows up with crazy earrings or a wild hair color!”

Bram van der Ploeg (Twitter: @BvdPloegg | email: [email protected])