{"id":333643,"date":"2025-12-07T22:18:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T22:18:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/333643\/"},"modified":"2025-12-07T22:18:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-07T22:18:15","slug":"i-found-it-hard-to-accept-i-was-no-longer-a-rider-what-nathan-van-hooydonck-did-next-after-the-cardiac-arrest-that-nearly-killed-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/333643\/","title":{"rendered":"“I found it hard to accept I was no longer a rider” \u2013 what Nathan Van Hooydonck did next after the cardiac arrest that nearly killed him"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the summer of 2023, with some impressive performances at the Spring Classics under his belt, Belgian pro cyclist Nathan Van Hooydonck of Team Jumbo-Visma supported his team leader, Jonas Vingegaard, to a second successive win in the Tour de France.<\/p>\n

He was full of promise, having also notably helped Primo\u017e Rogli\u010d to a Vuelta win in 2021. Then, only two months later, it all came crashing down.<\/p>\n

While driving at home in Belgium, in mid-September, with his pregnant wife in the passenger seat, Van Hooydonck suffered a massive cardiac arrest. He crashed the car and, in his words, was \u201cdead for a little bit\u201d, before being resuscitated at the scene.<\/p>\n

After several emergency surgeries, he thankfully awoke in hospital and, almost immediately, was forced to come to terms with the fact his racing career, which had been such a massive part of his identity, was finished.<\/p>\n

Two years later, we sat down with Van Hooydonck to find out, in his own words, the story of that horrific day, what came next, and what his experience can teach anyone who exercises regularly and is passionate about it.<\/p>\n

A different focus
\n\"\"Van Hooydonck rode in two winning Tour de France teams. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Thankfully, Van Hooydonck hasn\u2019t had to turn his back completely on cycling since that awful, life-changing moment.<\/p>\n

In 2024, he returned to the WorldTour circuit in a new role, working in hospitality for his team, guiding VIP guests to give them a tailored experience in the riders\u2019 footsteps, from Omloop Het Nieuwsblad to the Tour de France. <\/p>\n

\u201cGuiding the hospitality guests during the races played a huge role in my processing,\u201d Van Hooydonck has said previously. \u201cIn the months after the accident, I found it hard to accept that I was no longer a rider. Being present at the races helped me tremendously.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now he\u2019s joined their commercial department. He also does media work, including commentary for TNT Sports. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m doing well, and I\u2019ve found my place within my team, Visma-Lease a Bike, the team I was part of as a pro cyclist,\u201d Van Hooydonck tells us. \u201cApart from the cycling bit, nothing has changed \u2013 I still see all the same faces every day, which is nice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recalling his life-changing experience, he says: \u201cIn 2023, I\u2019d just come back from a race, the Tour of Britain, which I didn\u2019t know at the time would be the final one of my career. <\/p>\n

“I had a heart attack in my car \u2013 certainly not what you want or expect as a professional athlete in their 20s. I immediately knew that I couldn\u2019t be a pro cyclist anymore. I had to retire and find new opportunities. As 2024 went on, I found a spot on the business side of the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Road to recovery
\n\"\"Nathan posing with his wife, Alicia, two months before his accident. Getty Images<\/p>\n

But of course, getting to that point wasn\u2019t plain sailing. \u201cBefore all that, I had to recover from all the surgeries \u2013 three, initially, in the week after the heart attack. Then there was the whole mental aspect to manage. I could have gone on and pretended that it didn\u2019t happen, but I\u2019d have been lying.\u201d<\/p>\n

After leaving hospital, Van Hooydonck was able to gradually start recuperating and even start cycling again, albeit at a much more leisurely pace. <\/p>\n

\u201cOnce I was back at home, it was about being relaxed to exercise again,\u201d he says. \u201cA case of going out for a ride, or just to play golf even \u2013 it\u2019s not a sport that gets the heart rate up, but it still took time.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow I know what my body can do. That\u2019s something my cardiologist spoke to me about: \u2018Please realise you were very lucky, and don\u2019t push yourself like you used to\u2019. I know what I can do and what I want to do, so that makes cycling a lot more fun than a year ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

He’s been fitted with an internal defibrillator to keep things in check. \u201cPeople point to their chest when they think of where it is but it\u2019s actually close to my armpit,\u201d he explains of the device. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s constantly \u2018aware\u2019, but it hasn\u2019t needed to do anything yet. If my heart goes crazy, it notices and regulates it. It\u2019s not a pacemaker, it doesn\u2019t set my heart rate. My heart runs free, then it steadies it if it goes haywire.\u201d<\/p>\n

Being sensible
\n\"\"Dylan Van Baarle sending support to his teammate after his cardiac arrest. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Van Hooydonck has been given clear guidelines on exercise by his cardiologist: \u201cI always need to stay under my threshold [the highest average power you can sustain for an hour] if exercising for any extended period of time.\u201d<\/p>\n

But he can feel the change within his body and doesn\u2019t want to push it anyway. \u201cMy heart is different now,\u201d he explains. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you break your leg, for example, and it gets put in a cast, when you take it off, all the muscle in your leg goes. And that\u2019s what\u2019s happened to my heart. It was big, as a trained athlete. <\/p>\n

“Two months ago, I visited my cardiologist and he said my heart was shrinking. That actually means the chance that it [a heart attack] happens again is small, because my heart is a normal size now, for someone who rides a bike now and then.”<\/p>\n

And does he still have that competitive spirit that many athletes just can\u2019t shake, even in retirement? \u201cI feel that I could still beat [friends] in a race, but I don\u2019t want to. <\/p>\n

“Why should I try to push myself when my body has shown me that my life could so easily have been over? I don\u2019t need to prove myself to anyone any more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learning new skills<\/p>\n

While the former pro admits the transition to racing retirement was \u201csuper challenging\u201d, he says he was lucky with the people he had around him and that he hadn\u2019t been \u201cliving in a bubble\u201d, aside from during the Tour de France.<\/p>\n

As he\u2019s said previously, he\u2019s grateful to his former team, too: \u201cIf you perform well as a rider, you are always valuable to a team, and they will do everything to keep you.<\/p>\n

“Once you stop, those abilities are gone. That is why I am grateful to the team, that they also see the value in me as a person. They look beyond just the rider Nathan van Hooydonck, and that is special.\u201d<\/p>\n

He’s been figuring out what kind of role he\u2019d like within the commercial department, while also picking up the basics of a more desk-based job. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had to start working for the first time, but I\u2019ve also had to learn how to work,\u201d he admits. \u201cI don\u2019t know what it is to build a PowerPoint [presentation], to fill in numbers in a spreadsheet or keep an agenda. <\/p>\n

“It makes it challenging at times, but I just try to deal with it. I get up in the morning and try to make the best of it. If it\u2019s not good enough, I\u2019ll try again tomorrow, because I don\u2019t know anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Decision made
\n\"\"Nathan is still close to teammates, just in a different role these days. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Wasn\u2019t he ever tempted to try to get back on the bike and give it a go competitively instead of resigning himself to immediate retirement and a behind-the-scenes role at races? <\/p>\n

\u201cI know some athletes who have carried on after heart attacks, but I knew quickly it wouldn\u2019t be an option for me,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

\u201cAfter my accident, I asked my dad, \u2018Do you think I could ever be a cyclist again?\u2019, and he\u2019s always very positive. And he said: \u2018We\u2019ll see about that\u2019. I knew then it was over.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy wife too \u2013 she didn\u2019t say I couldn\u2019t cycle any more, but I just felt in all kinds of ways that it was over. I didn\u2019t ask doctors, could I do this or that \u2013 I knew it was a clear sign that I had to retire. <\/p>\n

“I\u2019m very lucky to still be here. I didn\u2019t feel the need to be smarter than my cardiologist, who\u2019s the best in Belgium. It wasn\u2019t my decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

Words of wisdom<\/p>\n

Van Hooydonck\u2019s experience is a reminder that even if you\u2019re super-fit, you\u2019re not immune to heart issues such as this.<\/p>\n

This is especially true for men, who are far more prone to them than women, with the protective role of the hormone oestrogen thought to be a significant factor in this.<\/p>\n

He urges anyone taking on a major endurance challenge to see a cardiologist first. \u201c[The risk of a heart attack] goes much broader than people who\u2019ve already had an issue,\u201d he explains. <\/p>\n

\u201cEven if you\u2019re healthy, it\u2019s worth getting checked out. It\u2019ll give you the freedom to ride safely. If there was something wrong with your heart, you\u2019d know it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s your body, you only have one and you really need to take care of it. Some people are untrained and go completely over the limit. Be responsible for yourself and your family. <\/p>\n

“If you\u2019re scared to get checked, ask yourself, would you rather know and be healthy, or not know and die? It\u2019s a responsibility to take care of your body.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the summer of 2023, with some impressive performances at the Spring Classics under his belt, Belgian pro…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":333644,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-333643","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-cycling","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=333643"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333643\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/333644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=333643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=333643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=333643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}