"I thought it was aiming too high" - Picnic's youngster sets out to a Tour de France debut after a year off competition
Cycling
You may have not heard yet of Robbe Dhondt, and there's a reason for that. The Belgian has turned professional with Team Picnic PostNL last year, but called it a season in May and has only returned to racing this April. Since then, the 22-year-old has been quite a pleasant surprise. So much that he made the weakened Dutch team's Tour de France selection.
"I’ve just had an incredible amount of bad luck in my professional career," Dhondt confides to WielerFlits. "Due to a crash at the 4 Jours de Dunkerque in May last year, I was out for about a season with a concussion. To this day, I still suffer from it a bit sometimes."
Unfortunately, that hasn't the first time Dhondt had to deal with an injury of this type: "At the Volta d'Aosta two years ago, I hit a guardrail with my head. We were riding seventy kilometers per hour on a descent. We noticed immediately: 'Something isn't right here.' I stopped right away. It also took a few months to return back then."
Unlike after Aosta, the recovery from Dunkerque concussion turned out quite a bit more complicated. Why so? "The problem in Dunkerque last year was that I rode the entire subsequent stage. I thought to myself: 'I have a bit of a headache, but that’s fine. I haven’t broken anything else.' That probably did me in. I think that is the reason why it all dragged on for so long. That is why I was never really able to show what I can do."
Finally back on the rails
Whereas in the younger categories Dhondt profiled himself slightly more in the climber direction, that rider profile no longer seems to accurately depict the 22-year-old Belgian. However the aforementioned health complications delayed his development for a few seasons.
"Due to the circumstances, I have never been able to complete the preparation that a professional rider normally has. I have never been on an altitude training camp. I have never ridden a Grand Tour. This was the biggest stage race I participated in as a pro."
Now that he's back on the rail since March, Dhondt completed Tour de Romandie, 4 Jours de Dunkerque and Tour Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes. And it's fair to say, he did not disappoint with a role in all these starts.
Picnic strives for success in any form
Team Picnic PostNL is not going through good times, and that is reflected in some "slightly surprising" strategic decisions, such as Dhondt's Tour de France debut. Even to the Belgian, the selection came a bit out of the blue.
"At first I thought: that is aiming a bit too high. The Dauphiné is the biggest stage race I have ridden so far. Before this, Dunkerque at six days, was the longest. I haven't raced longer than that yet. I am still only 22. Normally, there will be more opportunities to ride the Tour de France, but it has turned out to be this year already."
The Dutch team is currently at the bottom of team UCI ranking's top-30, competing with mid-tier ProTeams rather than their WorldTour rivals. A miracle is unlikely to throw them out of this misery at the Tour de France, but a good result from an unexpected name such as Dhondt would be more than welcome.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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