Nathan van Hooydonck's pro cycling career is over as the 27-year-old has been forced to retire immediately due to a serious heart problem, that went undiagnosed, and almost cost him his life while he was driving in Belgium last week.
The now former Jumbo Visma rider was carrying his pregnant wife as a passenger in his car when he suffered a medical emergency and crash through a junction in the Antwerp region last Tuesday. While a total of five cars were damaged in the incident, there were no serious injuries.
However, Van Hooydonck had to be revived at the scene and almost died. Though he suffered no crash injuries, medical checks have yielded bad news for his cycling career, which is now over.
He has been fitted with an internal defibrillator to correct potential future cardiac arrhythmia, Jumbo Visma said. His condition follows a similar outcome for former European road race champion Sonny Colbrelli, the then Bahrain Victorious rider who almost died in similar circumstances after collapsing immediately after the opening stage of Volta a Catalunya last year.
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"I realise that I was incredibly lucky", Van Hooydonck said of the incident last week, which he has effectively walked away from injured and with a serious cardiac condition diagnosed and treated, even though it brings an end to his career, years before it should be over.
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"Things may have gone differently if I hadn't gotten good help so quickly. I'm fine now, but I still have to deal with the fact that this marks the end of my professional career. I would like to express my gratitude to the people who helped me, the medical team at the hospital and all the fans who sent me messages.
"I will now focus on my recovery and my upcoming fatherhood. Everything is going well with Alicia and the pregnancy, and we eagerly anticipate the birth. That really helps me now."
Many of van Hooydonck's team mates were riding La Vuelta when he crashed last Tuesday, with Jonas Vingegaard taking an emotional victory at Bejes on the day. The team also wore t-shirts dedicated to Van Hooydonck on the final stage into Madrid last Sunday.
Today, when news of van Hooydonck's condition and immediate retirement was confirmed, his Jumbo Visma team mate, Wout van Aert, said it was "unjust" for a rider who was only in his sixth year at World Tour level, in a career than could have continued for the best part of another decade.
“Of course I'm happy that Nathan is still here,” Van Aert said. “I really realise that that is the most important thing. His life has been hanging by a thread for the past week. But this remains very sad news. It must be a huge blow for him that he can no longer pursue his passion. Nathan has already had so many setbacks. If this is also taken away from you from one moment to the next, it feels incredibly brutal.”
