In 1976 he finished last in the general classification of the Tour de France and carried the Lanterne rouge.

In 1971 Van den Hoek won silver at the 1971 UCI Road World Championships, in the team time trial, with team mates Fedor den Hertog, Adri Duyker and Frits Schür.

[1] After the race Van den Hoek tested positive for Coramine, a drug allowed by the Union Cycliste Internationale but not the IOC.

In 1977 he was one of a group of 30 riders that were sent home after finishing beyond the time limit in the toughest mountain stage Chamonix - Alpe d'Huez.

Among those riders were points classification second Rik van Linden, stage winners Klaus-Peter Thaler and Patrick Sercu, and his team mates Piet van Katwijk and Bill Nickson.