Decathlon's sprint sensation Lund Andresen contracts disease that keeps him out of action: 'Mentally difficult to deal with'

Tobias Lund Andresen is going through a rough patch right now. The 24-year-old Dane from Decathlon CMA CGM had a sensational spring, but his body started to give out during the Giro d'Italia. On the Danish podcast Café Eddy, Lund Andresen now talks about Pfeiffer's disease, which has been sidelining him since May.

Pfeiffer's disease, also known as glandular fever or mononucleosis, is a viral infection caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Unfortunately, there is no cure for it; rest is the main treatment. This isn’t ideal for a cyclist, especially since Pfeiffer’s disease can sometimes remain in your system for months.

Lund Andresen knows this all too well, because when he fell ill during the Giro d'Italia, no one could have imagined that he would hardly race again after that. He finished the Tour of Italy and even joined the sprint on the final day in Rome, which, in hindsight, may not have been the wisest decision.

Last winter, Lund Andresen made the switch from Picnic PostNL to Decathlon CMA CGM, and it certainly paid off for him. He immediately won a stage at the Tour Down Under, triumphed in the Mapei Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, finished well within the top ten in both Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, and then went on to win a stage at the Tirreno-Adriatico.

After an outstanding spring, expectations were high for the Giro d'Italia, but shortly after finishing second on the opening weekend, it was announced that Lund Andresen was ill. Apparently, his condition was never serious enough to force him to withdraw. He made it to Rome and even finished second in the Copenhagen Sprint in June.

After his home race, Lund Andresen did not compete again because he was diagnosed with Pfeiffer’s disease. Although his first test in June came back negative, the virus was detected in July. It was only then that Decathlon CMA CGM and the rider suspended all training—3.5 weeks ago.

That cost a lot of time, as the sprint specialist himself knows. “I’ve had physical problems ever since I got sick in the Giro, but I kept racing. We only found out 3.5 weeks ago, but I already knew 7 or 8 weeks ago that something was wrong with my body. It was mentally difficult to deal with that, because we didn’t know what was going on.”

Now that that's clear, Lund Andresen will stay off his bike for the time being, not knowing when he'll be able to start riding again. "I was relieved when it turned out to be Pfeiffer's disease, but I haven't trained in a long time."