Nathan Van Hooydonck

Nathan Van Hooydonck (born 12 October 1995) is a retired Belgian road racing cyclist who competed for teams including , and between 2014 and 2023. He rode in support of the race winner in both the Vuelta a España and Tour de France.

Career

Van Hooydonck joined in 2014 aged eighteen. Bissel, managed by Axel Merckx, was registered as a professional team riding at UCI Continental level and Van Hooydonck rode in a mix of pro and junior events. Future Giro d'Italia champion Tao Geoghegan Hart was a teammate.

He joined feeder squad in 2015. Although the team was registered as an amateur team, it also accepted invitations to compete in professional events. Van Hooydonck was promoted to the full in 2017 and spent four years with the senior squad. In August 2019, he was named in the startlist for his first Grand Tour race, the 2019 Vuelta a España.

In 2021, he signed for and entered his second Vuelta in his first year with the team. He rode in support of Primož Roglič, who won the race. He was named to the team for the 2022 Tour de France and ended up playing an important role. Between Roglič, Jonas Vingegaard and Wout van Aert fighting for stage wins, jerseys and the Tour de France itself, Van Hooydonck was one of the key domestiques for the team. He left the race two stages before the end for personal reasons with race leader Vingegaard holding on to take the overall win.

Major results

Van Hooydonck took one individual victory in a professional race, winning stage four at the 2016 Ronde de l'Oise on the UCI Europe Tour. He was part of the team time trial victory for on stage three of 2023 Paris–Nice, and finished second to teammate Tiesj Benoot at Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne in the same year.

He was the 2015 Belgian National Under-23 Road Race Champion and had a best finish of fifth in the senior race, achieved in 2017. He was awarded the Crystal Drop of Sweat in 2023, an annual prize given to the best domestique or supporting rider from Belgium.

Retirement

On 12 September 2023, Van Hooydonck suffered a medical issue while driving and was involved in a traffic accident. His pregnant wife was a passenger in the car but was uninjured. Jonas Vingegaard won the stage of the Vuelta a España that was held that day and dedicated the win to his teammate. On 20 September, it was announced that an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) had been fitted due to an irregularity of the cardiac wall, which if left untreated would put him at risk of arrhythmia. This brought his professional cycling career to an end at the age of twenty-seven.

Van Hooydonck remained with after retiring from cycling, initially as a driver in the hospitality team before moving into a commercial role. He combines this with media work and provides commentary and in-studio punditry during TNT Sports coverage of major races.

Personal life

He is the son of former professional cyclist Gino and the nephew of two-time Tour of Flanders winner Edwig Van Hooydonck.

Van Hooydonck is married to Alicia Cara. The couple has a son and a daughter.

Major results

2012 2nd Road race, National Junior Road Championships 3rd Ronde van Vlaanderen Juniores 4th Omloop der Vlaamse Gewesten 6th Time trial, UCI Junior Road World Championships 2013 1st Overall Keizer der Juniores 2nd Time trial, National Junior Road Championships 2nd Paris–Roubaix Juniors 3rd La Philippe Gilbert 3rd Omloop der Vlaamse Gewesten 4th Overall GP Général Patton 4th Ronde van Vlaanderen Juniores 7th Overall Course de la Paix Juniors 2015 National Under-23 Road Championships

2nd Time trial 3rd Overall Olympia's Tour

8th Paris–Tours Espoirs 2016 2nd Kernen Omloop Echt-Susteren 3rd Overall Ronde de l'Oise

1st Stage 4 3rd Chrono Champenois 4th Overall Tour de Berlin 1st Stage 1 (TTT) 4th Circuit de Wallonie 5th Time trial, UEC European Under-23 Road Championships 5th Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Beloften 6th Internationale Wielertrofee Jong Maar Moedig 9th Overall Le Triptyque des Monts et Châteaux 2017 5th Road race, National Road Championships 5th Paris–Roubaix Espoirs 2018 4th Overall Dubai Tour 2021 7th Gent–Wevelgem 2023 1st Stage 3 (TTT) Paris–Nice 2nd Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

+ Legend — Did not compete DNF Did not finish