The Dutch Nathan Van Hooydonck will leave professional cycling. The Jumbo rider, who suffered a cardiac arrest last week while driving his vehicle, will not be able to continue with his professional activity, according to his team in a statement specifying that the 27-year-old Belgian suffers from an anomaly in the heart muscle.
The Belgian was taken to hospital in serious condition, although his health began to improve hours later. After spending several days under observation to determine the causes that caused this loss of control while driving, the tests have revealed the aforementioned anomaly, as the Dutch squad explains: "After exhaustive tests, Van Hooydonck was diagnosed with an anomaly in the heart muscle that caused the accident that almost cost him his life last Tuesday. “The findings mean the end of Van Hooydonck’s professional career.”
The runner now begins a recovery period. “I realize that I was incredibly lucky. Things could have been different if I hadn't received 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. Now I will focus on my recovery and my upcoming fatherhood. Everything is going well with Alicia and the pregnancy, and we are looking forward to the birth. “That really helps me now.”
Van Hooydonck was a trusted man of the great stars of the Jumbo team, since he had been present in almost all the great conquests of Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard in recent times: two Tours of the Slovenian (2019 and 2021) and the two recent Danish Tours (2022 and 2023).
