"Talking, walking - I had to learn it all again": Cofidis rider tries to overcome stroke and return to racing

Ludovic Robeet has a contract with Team Cofidis through 2027, yet he's not raced since last August. And no future starts are on his schedule at the moment. And, unfortunately, the 31-year-old Belgian may well never race his bike competitively again. Robeet's story is that of how life can turn upside down in a moment you expect it the least.

"I was supposed to leave the next day when, in the middle of the night, around three in the morning, I suddenly woke up in shock," Robeet shared his story at Het Nieuwsblad. "I felt that something was wrong with me. My face felt strange. I was having trouble breathing. And one side of my body wasn’t responding."

His girlfriend, who was heavily pregnant at the time, was sleeping in another part of the house. "I tried to call her, but her phone was on silent. In the end, I somehow managed to drag myself to her. But by then, I could no longer speak. I tried, but nothing came out."

At the hospital, it turned out Robeet had suffered a stroke. How could something like that happen to a top-level athlete? "Nobody knows," he said. "There was nothing that pointed to it. On the contrary, I had actually been feeling great during that period. I had just ridden some good races shortly before it happened. And then suddenly this happens. But they told me in hospital that it isn’t unique. There are other young people this happens to as well."

The Belgian spent the following two weeks in hospital. Understandably so, Robeet feared for his career. "It was a double feeling. On the one hand, you’re afraid you may never race again. On the other, your first priority is simply to recover. After a stroke, you’re never sure whether that will happen. Talking, walking - I had to learn it all again."

During that period, his girlfriend gave birth to their daughter. Not long afterwards, Robeet reached an important breakthrough, because he was allowed to ride his bike again. According to him, that was a turning point. "Because I’m convinced that my sport helped me recover much faster. The neurologists said the same thing. I had to challenge my body, keep busy, live as normally as possible again. That would help."

Now he is gradually working his way back toward the level he had before the stroke. "I’m happy that you can hardly see anything from my stroke anymore," said the Belgian. "But if you look closely, you’ll notice that my face is still slightly crooked. And I also have less strength on the left side of my body. But apart from that, almost everything is back in order. Even my form isn’t bad. I can complete all of my endurance training again."

Is there a time frame on his racing return? No, at least for now... "At the moment, my heart rate refuses to go above 150. I have to be honest: if that’s the case, you can’t race. I wouldn’t be able to follow. First, I need to be able to breathe at 100 percent again."