Cofidis rider recovering from stroke: “Talking, walking — I had to learn it all again”

Robeet had been putting together another solid season for Cofidis in 2025. Everything seemed perfectly normal: he had finished the Renewi Tour in 67th place. He was then due to fly to Canada, but shortly before that, things suddenly went wrong. “I was supposed to leave the next day when, in the middle of the night, around three in the morning, I suddenly woke up in shock,” he told Het Nieuwsblad. “I felt that something was wrong with me. My face felt strange. I was having trouble breathing. And one side of my body wasn’t responding.”

His girlfriend, who was heavily pregnant at the time, was sleeping in another part of the house. “I tried to call her, but her phone was on silent. In the end, I somehow managed to drag myself to her. But by then, I could no longer speak. I tried, but nothing came out.”

At the hospital, it turned out Robeet had suffered a stroke. How could something like that happen to a top-level athlete? “Nobody knows,” he said. “There was nothing that pointed to it. On the contrary, I had actually been feeling great during that period. I had just ridden some good races shortly before it happened. And then suddenly this happens. But they told me in hospital that it isn’t unique. There are other young people this happens to as well.”

The Belgian remained at Erasmus Hospital in Anderlecht for two weeks before moving to a rehabilitation centre. Robeet feared for his career. “It was a double feeling. On the one hand, you’re afraid you may never race again. On the other, your first priority is simply to recover. After a stroke, you’re never sure whether that will happen. Talking, walking — I had to learn it all again.”

During that period, his girlfriend gave birth to their daughter. Not long afterwards, Robeet reached an important breakthrough, because he was allowed to ride his bike again. According to him, that was a turning point. “Because I’m convinced that my sport helped me recover much faster. The neurologists said the same thing. I had to challenge my body, keep busy, live as normally as possible again. That would help.”

Now he is gradually working his way back toward the level he had before the stroke. “I’m happy that you can hardly see anything from my stroke anymore,” said the Belgian. “But if you look closely, you’ll notice that my face is still slightly crooked. And I also have less strength on the left side of my body. But apart from that, almost everything is back in order. Even my form isn’t bad. I can complete all of my endurance training again.”

So when will we see the Cofidis rider back in competition? For now, it remains difficult to say. “At the moment, my heart rate refuses to go above 150. I have to be honest: if that’s the case, you can’t race. I wouldn’t be able to follow. First, I need to be able to breathe at 100 percent again.” A short training camp in Spain did go well, however. So it is a step-by-step process.