The young Australian talent from Lidl-Trek, fresh from a heart operation in February, placed second in the prologue, just 0.28 seconds behind Ethan Hayter.
For Cameron Rogers, a promising Lidl-Trek Future rider and nephew of former pro Michael, the Tour of Holland could be the last race of the 2025 season, but Tuesday's prologue saw him come close to what would have been his first victory of the year.
The Australian, who beat Filippo Ganna in the prologue of the Tour of Austria last summer, has had a complicated 2025 season due to heart surgery in February. His season didn't begin until April at the Circuit des Ardennes, but he's regained good form in recent weeks, as demonstrated by his seventh-place finish at the GP Rik Van Looy last month.
In the Tour of Holland prologue in The Hague, Rogers was beaten by just 0.28 seconds by Ethan Hayter (Soudal-QuickStep), after spending over an hour in the hot seat as provisional leader.
It was a very close race. Ethan beat me by a handful of seconds. I was hoping my time would last until the end. To stay in the hot seat for so long and then see the victory slip away is a bit unfortunate, but second place is still an excellent result and I'm happy.Rogers said.
The runner then talked about his difficult 2025:
I had to undergo heart surgery in February to address some minor issues. It was a long recovery journey, but I'm finally getting back to my best.Rogers can count on the support of his uncle Michael, manager of the Lidl-Trek women's team:
"He's the reason I can run. He's my family away from home. He guides me and shows me how, because he's been through it all. I couldn't do it without him."
The young Australian is now looking confidently ahead to Friday's 15km time trial in Etten-Leur, aware of his qualities in time trials.
