Dylan van Baarle speaks openly about seeking professional mental health support: “Thanks to him, I managed to get back on top of things”
Cycling
Elite men’s cycling has never struggled to talk about pain, fatigue or physical injury. Mental health is different. It is usually implied, softened or avoided altogether. That is why Dylan van Baarle speaking openly about seeking professional mental health support carries weight well beyond his own career.
Van Baarle is not a marginal figure telling a cautionary tale. He is a Paris-Roubaix winner, a Monument champion, and a rider whose reputation was built on resilience and durability. When someone with that profile talks calmly and directly about asking for help, it cuts through long-standing silence in the sport.
Two seasons spent trying to get back
Speaking in an open and honest interview with Wieler Revue, Van Baarle reflected on how the past two seasons became defined less by progression than by recovery. A succession of crashes and interrupted preparations meant he was repeatedly trying to return to form rather than build on it.
The breaking point came early in 2025, when he broke his collarbone at the Tour Down Under. “That crash was the final straw for me,” Van Baarle said. “I wanted to turn the page on 2024, but then you start again with a setback. That was a huge mental blow for me.”
What followed was not just physical rehabilitation, but growing uncertainty. “I started asking myself questions: at what level will I come back? Is it down to me? Do I even still belong in the peloton? I started to doubt myself.”
When recovery becomes a cycle
Van Baarle explained that those doubts shaped his spring campaign. He was rarely completely absent, but seldom fully himself. “The last two seasons I was constantly focused on coming back,” he said. “You try to get into shape, while other riders are adding an extra layer on top. I was constantly chasing the facts.”
For a rider whose strengths depend on endurance, rhythm and confidence over long distances, that pattern proved especially damaging. He acknowledged that hesitation crept into his racing, alongside the physical limitations.
It was not until later in the year, during the Vuelta a Espana, that he felt the cycle begin to break. “Only then did I get the feeling that I was once again the rider who won Paris-Roubaix in 2022,” he said.
Van Baarle famously won Paris-Roubaix in 2022
Choosing professional help
Rather than treating those struggles as something to be managed internally, Van Baarle made a conscious decision to seek help outside his immediate circle. He was clear about the limits of personal support alone. “Helping each other get rid of those feelings and really pulling someone out of a negative spiral is simply very difficult,” he said.
Instead, he turned to professional mental support. “I found someone who supported me mentally during that period,” Van Baarle explained. “He didn’t only help me with racing-related matters, but also gave me tools for everyday life.”
The outcome was gradual, but decisive. “Thanks to him, I managed to get back on top of things,” Van Baarle said.
Why this matters in men’s cycling
At home, Van Baarle found understanding from his future wife, Pauline Ferrand-Prevot, who has experienced similar pressures at the highest level of sport. That recognition helped, but it did not replace professional guidance.
What makes Van Baarle’s comments notable is not their drama, but their clarity. He does not frame mental health support as a crisis response or an exceptional measure. It is presented as a practical, professional decision taken by an experienced athlete navigating a difficult period.
In a sport where elite men still rarely speak so plainly about seeking help, that openness stands as a statement in itself.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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