Jan Tratnik reveals history of anorexia and bulimia: "It was a circle I couldn’t escape from"
Cycling
Jan Tratnik is one of the top riders in the peloton currently, a great domestique but also very successful rider with his own results. This is the result of a very long career however and he admits that in his first years he suffered from eating disorders and was close to leaving the sport.
It was a very interesting start to his career, two years in continental teams, then one year at Quick-Step, then another five back at continental level. Likely in the 2010 or 2011 seasons, with the Radenska or even Quick-Step, he admits that he entered a cycle of vicious eating disorders.
“We did some tests and when we saw my watts per kilo, someone suggested that if I lost another two kilograms I could be really, really good on the climbs, so I listened to them,” the Slovenian said in words to CyclingWeekly. “The truth was, I didn’t have much fat so it was really hard to lose this weight. That’s how it started, because I didn’t know what to do.”
It is a still existing problem in cycling nowadays, but more so in this dark period of cycling right after decades of doping scandals as well. Specially for those who wanted to perform well uphill, there would be a pursuit of weight loss to extreme levels, including the lack of nutrition - something unthinkable in the sport currently.
“I reduced my eating to almost nothing to lose those extra two kilos, but it was really hard because I was losing muscle," he says. "I was hungry all the time, I was starving. I was eating maybe one or two meals per day, but only small amounts.”
The lack of eating also led to occasional overeating, and then forcing himself to throw up so as to not gain weight from it. “I couldn’t handle being starving, so I cracked and ate too much. Being afraid to gain weight... It was a circle I couldn’t escape from.”
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- I'm deeply sick of this guy and his unwillingness to race seriously for more than a month or two. I'll never respect riders who do that. Seixas will be stronger than him next season, and maybe Del Toro as well. I don't even think he'll finish on the podium at any GT where Pogi, Seixas, and Del Toro are racing.megasmacky15-11-2026
- Not a chance in hell.megasmacky15-11-2026
- If you go watch some races from last season other riders that have never caught Jonas...are now catching him. Some are just riding away from him and he can't hold the wheelmd197514-11-2026
- He just doesn't have the desire anymore. I read an article earlier today that said he almost retired last year. His reasoning was he is away from home to much. Visma was able to keep him riding by allowing him to skip certain camps. So, while currently Visma is doing altitude work...Jonas is at home. Which means 2 things. 1- He maybe fresher than other riders. But, not the condition. 2-Is a somewhat slap in the face to others on the team that are supposed to help him win. Yet feel like he hasn't done what they have so perhaps they don't provide as good of protection or they ride more for theme (which the team may not notice).md197514-11-2026
- Roglic could not have won anyway, after Jonas followed him when Roglic decided it was his turn for a stage win. Jonas had already attacked Kuss twice, so it was Jonas who was within seconds of taking the lead before Kuss was 'gifted' the win. It felt a bit like Roglic was being thrown under the bus when the team made his unhappiness public.Hills3314-11-2026
- POG1, another nice doc about our favourite, I watched most of it with a big smile on my face (except for the bits about his crashes 😢 obvs!).Lozza14-11-2026
- Martinez had a good year! 5th at the Tour was a great result for him, albeit largely through getting in successful breaks, but he held it better than Pidcock who’d done the same.Lozza14-11-2026
- guess what Valgren, you're 34, and no you're not good enough. sorry to say.mij14-11-2026
- I'm a sepp fan and like to think he earned that LOL, indulge me : ) I think Jonas was fine. Roglic did not want to concede to Sepp. and I don't think you ever attack your own teammate in the leaders jersey if he is holding his own, which Sepp just about was.mij14-11-2026
- enough time? he's 24 years old. He's won 10 races over the last 2 years and some are significant. I won't argue about his attitude being good - it needs to improve. But with some coaching and mentorship he has a lot of winning ahead of him and has plenty of time to win a GT. I don't think he will ever beat Tadej, but everyone else is fair game Look at Mas and Valverde - they were 31 and 29, respectively, when they won the Vuelta.mij14-11-2026
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