Johnny Hoogerland

Johnny Hoogerland
	Hoogerland at the 2011 Tour de l'Ain
Personal information
Full name	Johnny Hoogerland
Nickname	Bull of Beveland, Hooligan
Born	13 May 1983 (age 41); Yerseke, the Netherlands
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	70 kg (154 lb)
Team information
Current team	Retired
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Rider type	Puncheur
Amateur team
2003	Quick Step–Davitamon–Latexco
Professional teams
2004–2005	Van Hermet–Eurogifts
2006	Jartazi–7Mobile
2007–2008	Van Vliet–EBH Advocaten
2009–2013	Vacansoleil
2014	Androni Giocattoli–Venezuela
2015–2016	Team Roompot
Major wins
	National Road Race Championships (2013)

Johnny Hoogerland (born 13 May 1983) is a Dutch former professional cyclist, who rode professionally between 2004 and 2016 for the Van Hermet–Eurogifts, Jartazi–7Mobile, Van Vliet–EBH Elshof, Vacansoleil–DCM, Androni Giocattoli–Venezuela and Roompot–Oranje Peloton squads.^[2]

Due to the prominent bull-tattoo on his arm and his roots from the peninsula of Zuid-Beveland he is nicknamed the "Bull of Beveland".^[3]^[4] He had a reputation of being an aggressive rider who took part in long breakaways.^[5] His most notable victory was the overall classification of the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen in 2009, where he also won a stage.^[6]

Maintaining his love of the sport, post retirement, Hoogerland participated in the first UCI Gran Fondo World Championships in Scotland in 2023, as part of the inaugural UCI Cycling World Championships. Riding in the men's 40-44 years age class, Hoogerland won his career first rainbow jersey in the Gran Fondo road race.^[7]

Career

In 2009 Hoogerland won the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen, taking stage 1 along the way.^[6] He finished in 12th place in both the Tour of Flanders and the GC of the Vuelta.^[8] He was the highest placed Dutchman in the men's road race at the 2009 World Championships, finishing in 14th place overall.^[9]

At the 2011 Tour de France Hoogerland won the Mountain jersey in the 6th stage. After losing it in the 8th stage, Hoogerland managed to recapture it in the 9th stage. In that same stage, he was then involved in a dramatic crash after a fellow breakaway rider, Team Sky's Juan Antonio Flecha, was sideswiped by a France Télévisions car, causing Hoogerland to crash into a barbed wire fence. Despite deep cuts to his legs, requiring 33 stitches,^[10] Hoogerland finished the stage, losing nearly 17 minutes as a result of the crash.^[11] Flecha and Hoogerland were jointly awarded the Combativity award for the day.^[12] In November 2014 Hoogerland announced that he had reached a compensation agreement with insurance company AIG over the incident.^[13]

In early February 2013, Hoogerland collided with a car while he was training in Spain, preparing for the Tour Méditerranéen.^[5] He was hospitalized and it was announced that he suffered five fractured ribs, a bruised liver and bone fractures to his spine. It was believed that he would miss the whole classics season.^[14] On 23 June 2013 he unexpectedly won the National Championship of the Netherlands.

Hoogerland joined Androni Giocattoli–Venezuela for the 2014 season, after his previous team – Vacansoleil–DCM^[15] – folded at the end of the 2013 season.^[1]

In August 2014, Hoogerland was announced as the first signing for the new Dutch Pro-Continental Team Roompot, which formed for the 2015 season.^[16]^[17]