Taco van der Hoorn ruled out of main 2026 goals after surgery setback

Taco van der Hoorn (Lotto-Intermarché) underwent surgery on Friday morning, ruling him out of the Classics and the Giro d’Italia, marking another setback for the Dutch rider.

The former Giro stage winner required surgery having suffered from prepatellar friction syndrome, which is a common knee condition in elite cyclists. The 32-year-old began experiencing knee pain in early January.

“Taco van der Hoorn underwent surgery this morning in Herentals (Belgium) due to prepatellar friction syndrome,” Lotto-Intermarché confirmed in a statement. 

Van der Hoorn was ruled out of making his season debut with Lotto-Intermarché at the Tour Down Under in January. Due to persistent issues, the Dutch rider and his team decided that surgery was the necessary path.

“He started experiencing knee pain in early January, which also prevented him from starting the Tour Down Under, and it was decided together with the team that surgery was the best solution,” explained the team.

Due to the timing of the injury and the one-month period required without riding, it means that Van der Hoorn has been ruled out of two of his major goals of the season, the Classics and the Giro. 

“Taco will not be able to ride for the next four weeks and will then have to build up gradually. This means he will miss the Classics and the Giro, his main goals this season. We wish him all the best and a speedy recovery. 

It’s another setback for Van der Hoorn, who notably endured a 502-day absence from racing following a concussion sustained in a crash at the Tour of Flanders in April 2023. The Dutch rider made his comeback towards the end of the 2024 season and won the Betcity Elfstedenrace. 

His performances in 2025, which included 20th place at Paris-Roubaix and three breakaways at the Giro d’Italia, helped Van der Hoorn earn a spot on the newly merged Lotto-Intermarché team with a two-year contract extension. However, the Dutch breakaway specialist will now have to wait longer than he expected to get his 2026 season underway. 

It’s not the only problem for the Belgian team on Friday, as Robin Orins (Lotto-Intermarché) was denied the opportunity to begin his 2026 season at the Vuelta a Murcia today due to being hit by a car in training in Spain and injuring his left knee. 

The team made the decision to rule the 23-year-old out of taking to the start, and instead travel back to Belgium to undergo examinations and treatment, where it was confirmed that he will be forced off the bike for the next ten days.

The newly merged team have started 2026 with two victories. Mathieu Kockelmann sprinted to victory on stage 2 of the Etoile de Bessèges, and Baptiste Veistroffer soloed to victory on stage 2 of the Tour of Oman.