“I was having panic attacks, crying for hours. I was scared, even of myself” — Lotto talent celebrates World Mental Health Day with honest admission

Robin Orins should have been living the dream. In 2024, the young Belgian lit up the U23 ranks with a breakout season that promised a bright future at the top level. But while his peers celebrated, the lights quietly went out on his world.

Now, after months of silence, therapy, and rediscovering what it means to feel joy again, the 23-year-old is back in the peloton and ready to speak — not about watts, victories or ambitions, but about something far more important: mental health. As shared in a post on Lotto's official website, this World Mental Health Day.

At the end of 2023, the promising youngster signed his first professional contract with Lotto Cycling Team. He had just won the U23 edition of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, taken a national time trial title, and impressed at the Worlds in Zurich. It looked like the launchpad to a glittering pro career.

But that autumn, everything stopped. “Physically and mentally, I was completely empty,” Orins wrote in a blog post at the time. “While others were celebrating their off-season, I was having panic attacks and crying for hours, trying to find myself again. I was scared, even of myself.”

The fear was paralysing. Instead of gearing up for his debut spring as a pro, he disappeared from racing — and from public view. For months, no results, no training snaps, no interviews. Just silence.

Eventually, the Belgian sought help. Psychologists and a psychiatrist became part of his daily reality. Medication, too. “Suddenly everything hit me ten times harder,” he recalls. “But once I had one positive experience, I realized I could still feel something good.”

The road back was slow — and fragile. A short jog felt monumental. The first time he got back on the bike, it felt alien. “I felt like a stranger in the world,” he says. “But it became familiar again. I learned to live with my fears.”

By the end of July, he lined up at Tour de Wallonie, and this weekend he will take the start at Il Lombardia, the final Monument of the season. For many riders, it’s just another race. For Orins, it’s proof he’s still here.

October 10 is World Mental Health Day — a date that Orins has deliberately chosen to speak publicly. He hopes his story resonates beyond cycling. “I was in my final year as a U23 rider; it was the year of ‘having to’,” he explains. “That pressure came from myself, not from others. I wanted to turn pro, so in my head, I had to live for it obsessively. I don’t think I’m the only one with that story.”

“Today, I know that talking about it helps. And I hope that anyone going through a tough time can see, through my story, that they’re not alone.”

For a sport that often demands stoicism, Orins’ honesty is a quiet act of courage. His story is a reminder that even those who appear to be living their dream can face invisible battles — and that coming back from them is its own kind of victory.