Edwig Van Hooydonck

Career From Gooreind, Wuustwezel, Van Hooydonck was a striking image on the bike with a 6’4” frame and red hair. He was a success from a young age, winning 30 out of 31 races in one junior season. He was signed by racing manager Jan Raas while still a teenager, and as a 20-year-old in 1987 won Brabantse Pijl, three months into his professional career. He made his debut that year at the Tour of Flanders, finishing 27th but placed fifth as a debutant at 1987 Paris-Roubaix. He also went on to earn a podium place with third overall that year at the 1989 Paris-Roubaix race. He then placed third at Paris-Roubaix behind Steve Bauer and Eddy Planckaert. Van Hooydonck won the Tour of Flanders again in 1991. His prowess on the Bosberg climb on the race led him to be nicknamed "Eddy Bosberg". His attack on the climb that year earned him the victory by 45 seconds over Johan Museeuw and Rolf Sørensen.

In stage races, he wins included a stage of the 1992 Vuelta a España, as well as wins in the Tour of Romandie and Tour of Luxembourg in 1993.

Shortly prior to his retirement in 1996 he placed second at 1996 Dwars door België and Brabantse Pijl, but retired from racing in May 1996 aged 29 years-old. Van Hooydonck retired from professional cycling because he felt he could no longer compete with other cyclists, who were at the time starting to dope themselves, without himself cheating too. At this time Erythropoietin (EPO) was becoming a widely used doping agent in the sport. Speaking in 2015, his former rival Johan Museeuw said "in my time, maybe two per cent of riders didn’t take EPO, Edwig van Hooydonck is one of them.”

Personal life He is the uncle of former professional cyclist Nathan Van Hooydonck.

Major results

1984

1985 7th Paris–Roubaix Espoirs 1986 1st Ronde Van Vlaanderen Beloften 2nd Paris–Troyes 3rd Flèche Ardennaise 5th Overall Circuit de la Sarthe 1987 1st Brabantse Pijl 2nd Grand Prix Eddy Merckx 3rd Le Samyn 5th Overall Ronde van Nederland 1st Stage 5 (TTT) 5th Overall Classic Brugge–De Panne 5th Paris–Roubaix 5th Züri-Metzgete 10th Grand Prix des Nations 10th Nokere Koerse 1988

1st Prologue 1st Grand Prix Eddy Merckx 3rd Overall Tour of Sweden 4th Overall Tour Méditerranéen 1st Stage 3 4th Brabantse Pijl 5th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico 8th Firenze–Pistoia 10th Rund um den Henninger Turm Frankfurt 1989 1st Tour of Flanders 1st Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne 1st Grand Prix de Denain 2nd Grand Prix Eddy Merckx 3rd Paris–Roubaix 4th Druivenkoers Overijse 5th Circuit des Frontières 5th Rund um den Henninger Turm Frankfurt 7th Brabantse Pijl 8th Overall Classic Brugge–De Panne 1990 1st Dwars door België 2nd Road race, National Road Championships 2nd Omloop Het Volk 3rd Paris–Roubaix 4th Druivenkoers Overijse 7th Brabantse Pijl 1991 1st Tour of Flanders 1st Brabantse Pijl 1st Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise 1st Schaal Sels 1st Grand Prix de la Libération (TTT) 3rd Omloop Het Volk 3rd Grand Prix Eddy Merckx 4th Nationale Sluitingsprijs 5th Züri-Metzgete 9th Overall Tour de l'Oise 9th Liège–Bastogne–Liège 9th Circuit des Frontières 9th Grand Prix des Amériques 1992 1st Grand Prix de Denain 1st Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise 1st Stage 6 Vuelta a España 1st Stage 3 (ITT) Étoile de Bessèges 3rd Tour of Flanders 4th Overall Tour of Ireland 1st Stage 3 4th Brabantse Pijl 7th Grand Prix de Wallonie 10th Liège–Bastogne–Liège 10th Paris–Tours 1993 1st Brabantse Pijl 1st Stage 2 Tour de Romandie 1st Stage 3b (ITT) Tour de Luxembourg 2nd Overall Vuelta a Andalucía 3rd Overall Tour de l'Oise 3rd Overall Classic Brugge–De Panne 3rd Nationale Sluitingsprijs 5th Druivenkoers Overijse 6th Paris–Roubaix 7th Tour of Flanders 8th Grand Prix des Nations 1994 4th Road race, National Road Championships 5th Brabantse Pijl 8th Tour du Haut Var 8th Grand Prix Eddy Merckx 9th Tour of Flanders 9th Druivenkoers Overijse 1995 1st Brabantse Pijl 2nd Omloop Het Volk 2nd Binche–Chimay–Binche 3rd Clásica de Almería 3rd Druivenkoers Overijse 5th Overall Vuelta a Murcia 7th Grand Prix Eddy Merckx 1996 2nd Brabantse Pijl 2nd Dwars door België 5th Omloop Het Volk 9th Trofeo Laigueglia