The SEG Racing years of Daan Hoole: looking up to Cees and Julius, but acting as the leader during final years

In the series 'The SEG Racing years of', IDLProCycling.com editor Jesper Rasch interviews several of his former teammates, with whom he rode in the SEG Racing Academy, a development team. These interviews explore the lives, choices and dreams of several promising young cyclists, who were part of one of the world's best development teams at the time. One of them was Daan Hoole, who is now a pro rider for Lidl-Trek.

Six years earlier, the then 18-year-old talent joined the development team of the SEG Cycling management agency. "The first introduction was in Eindhoven, at the Center for Top Sport and Education (CTO). And right away, you would meet those guys, including much older riders such as Cees, Edo and Julius. We immediately had a good atmosphere, and many jokes were made. I felt at home right away."

It was also 'those guys' whom Daan looked up to in his first year. With Cees Bol, Edoardo Affini and Julius van den Berg, in 2018 the development team experienced one of its best years in team history. Bol in particular, riding as a first-year elite, meant a lot to Daan. He was the undisputed leader of the young team in Daan's first year.

"Cees was four years older than me at the time. He was already so professional and mature. He had also experienced so much that he was truly a leader at that point. And as a brand new U23 rider, you do look up to that. When he said something, you listened a bit more closely compared to someone else. It wasn't that he always said we had to do this or that, but he did share his knowledge and experience with us."

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Daan Hoole (left) together with Ide Schelling, Edoardo Affini, Cees Bol, Stephen Williams, Julius van den Berg and Bernard Hinault during the team presentation for the Tour de Bretagne

Eager Hoole wants to learn, learn and learn: "Quite a step up from juniors"

With Jan Maas, Stephen Williams and Peter Lenderink also on the team, the continental U23 squad had even more experience and knowledge on offer. For young riders such as Daan, it was a great learning environment to understand the life of a future pro. "They explained how the races would unfold, what you had to do for those. But mostly everything surrounding the races, your way of life. And also the training you had to do, where you definitely had to keep enjoying yourself."

Daan denies that things were always serious and strictly according to the rules at the SEG Racing Academy. "During training camps, we did some serious training, but we were also allowed to do some sprints or ride someone into the ground when you were riding two-by-two at the front. I liked that right away," the time trial specialist recalls with a laugh.

However, it also varies by rider how much they listen to the knowledge and tips from the older riders. Daan was eager to learn, he believes. "Some thought they knew better themselves. But I immediately realized that things were different at the U23 level, compared to the juniors. It's quite a step up from the juniors."

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Daan helped Stephen Williams (yellow jersey) grab the victory in the Tour de l'Izard U23

In his second year, Daan missed having leaders such as Cees Bol or Julius van den Berg

Daan's first year was entirely focused on learning. Achieving results was not the goal: Daan had to learn from the older guys and work for their benefit in the races. With Bol (Team Sunweb), Van den Berg (EF Education First), Williams (Bahrain-Merida) and Affini (Mitchelton-Scott), the team sent four riders off to the WorldTour stage. Four strong and experienced riders who were no longer part of SEG Racing in 2019. That year, almost half of the team would consist of new and younger riders.

"It then became more of a youth team," Daan says of the new team back then. With the likes of Alberto Dainese and Kaden Groves, the team did gain quality in return. "But there wasn't really a leader you looked up to anymore. It was more a group of guys with the same goal."

Having no leaders like Bol or Van den Berg, did that not cause problems in a young team where a bunch of guys were all striving for the same thing? "That wasn't a problem at all. Even that year, we had good riders, so it actually went very well."

Yet, Daan emphasizes the importance of having guys the likes of Bol on your team. "Especially when you're in your second year, you already have some experience. Then you know how things work and how to fend for yourself. But in your first year, you just don't know those things yet."

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Daan jokingly called himself and Jordi Meeus the 'Leaders' of the group

In the 2020 season, there was a turning point for the Dutch time trial specialist. Now, Daan himself was one of the older guys in the team. Together with fourth-year rider Jordi Meeus, they were the most experienced cyclists on the team. "I didn't really feel like we were leaders. As a fourth- and third-year, you obviously have some experience and you know everyone in the team a bit longer. And you try to explain things to the younger riders, but to say that we were the two guys who were going to tell everyone how we should do something, that wasn't the case."

Maybe it was the height of the tall rider - standing nearly two meters tall, Daan towered over everyone - because Daan was in fact truly viewed as one of the leading riders on the team. During races, the man from South Holland was often the team captain. "I actually felt more like we had to make jokes and keep things fun."

The two certainly did that. During the seven-week (!) training camp in Greece, the two posed for a photo, with their backs against one another, with a tough look towards the camera. They had the team's marketing responsible edit the photo, adding the text LEADERS in flames at the bottom of the photo. To really complete the picture, a bird of prey was included. This elicited hilarious reactions in the group chat.

"You can also learn from younger riders," Daan is adamant

Thus, even before the start of the season, a new role emerged for the Dutch U23 time trial champion of that year, even though he hadn't consciously chosen or thought about it. "Jordi and I were the two who spoke the most when we were all at the table, but I wasn't really focused on that. Outside of the race, you motivate everyone, but not really during the race, because I'm not necessarily someone with the most race insight and the best tactical ability."

However, the rider born in 1999 did receive a few signals from the team's management that important times were coming up. "As you got older, they did give the impression that this was going to be your year. But I actually think that in cycling, there are a lot fewer leaders. You need each other, but you still focus mostly on yourself. It's different compared to soccer."

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The fact that you need each other, that is something Daan realized during his early years. While he learned a lot from Bol at that time, he had to manage without a more experienced teammate in later years. "I think you can always continue to learn from everyone. If not from the riders, then from the staff. It's not always that the older guys know better. You can also learn from younger riders."

Hoole: "The Tour of Flanders is not very different from the Tour of North Holland"

Daan's time at SEG Racing can clearly be divided into two chapters. In the first two years, the process was mainly focused on learning from others, whereas in the last years he had to perform himself and could pass on his knowledge and experience to the younger generation. "The big difference in cycling is that in my last years I became a lot more mature, with more experience. But it also brings pressure."

Now that Daan is about to start his third full year as a pro with the American WorldTour team Lidl-Trek, he knows that one thing hasn't changed over the years. And that's Daan as a person. "In terms of how I experience cycling, it's not much different now. You might be riding the Tour of Flanders, which you always watched on TV, but it doesn't feel different than the Tour of North Holland."

"However, it's now much more my life than it was back then. My life is now really centered around cycling. At SEG Racing, I was still in school in the beginning. I didn't feel like it was my day job, whereas now it's my job. But it doesn't feel like that, it's still a passion."