Valter slowly moves past “midlife crisis” after Visma | Lease a Bike spell: “I’m enjoying my life more and more”

That is why Valter still stands by his transfer. “I think change is always good in everyone’s life. I think it is necessary,” Valter told Cycling Pro Net before the start of Brabantse Pijl. “I think it came at a good moment in my life, even though it has not shown in the results yet, because I am not where I want to be. But I am enjoying my days and my life more and more. I think that will also bring power back to my legs. Now I am happy.”

During his time with Jumbo-Visma and later Visma | Lease a Bike, the Hungarian was hugely valuable to riders such as Jonas Vingegaard and Wout van Aert. Personally, he also finished fifth in both Strade Bianche and the UAE Tour, but in recent years things were no longer quite the same. The results dried up in his final season, because Valter’s battery was simply empty.

“Cycling had exhausted me. I was tired, I was too focused on losing weight, getting in shape, wondering whether I was good enough,” he explained. “At some point, you start questioning everything, and I think that is what happened to me. It was a kind of midlife crisis or career crisis, which maybe comes earlier for cyclists. I was definitely in that state, and my body responded to it.”

“Even when I felt good and tried to do my best, my body was limited. I feel it took longer than I expected to come back from that, but it can happen to anyone. In the end, I tried a lot of things, and maybe the best thing is not to try anything at all anymore. I have a good career, I am proud of myself, and I have great support from my family and many good friends.”

Those words show just how difficult Valter’s final year in Dutch service had become. However, the intelligent all-rounder also said in December that he did not leave with a bad feeling. “I would not change it for anything. I am very happy about the last three years. It taught me so much, I achieved such beautiful results and I was part of so many great teams, with some of the best riders in history.”

Back then, he also praised the mentality and working methods at Visma | Lease a Bike, but ultimately it did not make him happier. “When you focus on how you can improve, you always end up feeling that something is missing. I came to realise that I am not missing anything. I have everything I need, and that makes me happy. So I focus on that, and I feel the bike going faster every day.”

In the spring, Valter’s name has still been hard to find in the results. Those results have yet to come, and he knows himself that things need to improve if he is to fulfil the role promised to him at Bahrain Victorious. “I am not a leader yet. I still have to prove it, and I think that is logical.” This coming Sunday, he will be in action at the Amstel Gold Race, after which he will prepare for his home race: the Tour of Hungary, which he already won in 2020.