Johnny Hoogerland is a Dutch former professional cyclist, who rode professionally between 2004 and 2016 for the Van Hermet–Eurogifts,,,, and squads. 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". He had a reputation of being an aggressive rider who took part in long breakaways. His most notable victory was the overall classification of the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen in 2009, where he also won a stage.
Career
In 2009 Hoogerland won the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen, taking stage 1 along the way. He finished in 12th place in both the Tour of Flanders and the GC of the Vuelta. He was the highest placed Dutchman in the men's road race at the 2009 World Championships, finishing in 14th place overall. 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, '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, Hoogerland finished the stage, losing nearly 17 minutes as a result of the crash. Flecha and Hoogerland were jointly awarded the Combativity award for the day. In November 2014 Hoogerland announced that he had reached a compensation agreement with insurance companyAIG over the incident. In early February 2013, Hoogerland collided with a car while he was training in Spain, preparing for the Tour Méditerranéen. 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. On 23 June 2013 he unexpectedly won the National Championship of the Netherlands. Hoogerland joined for the 2014 season, after his previous team – – folded at the end of the 2013 season. In August 2014, Hoogerland was announced as the first signing for the new Dutch Pro-Continental, which formed for the 2015 season.
