"To say that I am throwing in the towel is simply unthinkable to me": World Tour pro's ongoing battle with a mysterious injury threatens his career

Bram Welten is navigating one of the darkest chapters of his life and career. The 29-year-old Team Picnic PostNL rider hasn't pinned on a race number since June 22, 2025 (Copenhagen Sprint), due to an undiagnosed physical issue that causes back pain and severe leg numbness. Currently unable to even go for a casual bike ride, and with his contract expiring at the end of the year, Welten faces the very real possibility that his professional cycling days might be over.

The nightmare began just before the 2025 Giro d'Italia. During a solo training camp in Spain, Welten felt a minor ache in his lower left back. Thinking it was just a standard tightness, he visited an osteopath, but the nagging sensation persisted.

During the first week of the Giro, the pain was annoying but manageable, until the first true mountain stage toward Tagliacozzo. "On the first climb of the day, I felt a sensation in my left leg that I didn't recognize. Like the leg was asleep," Welten explained in an interview to Wielerflits. "It wouldn't go away, not even by pedaling slower. That's why I didn't reach the finish line."

Welten immediately returned home for testing, assuming he was suffering from an iliac artery restriction, which is a common issue among pro cyclists. However, tests ruled that out entirely. Since then, he has visited numerous specialists and undergone several MRIs. Doctors noticed a slight bulge in one of his vertebrae, similar to a mini-hernia. Yet, the scans show no nerve compression, leaving doctors baffled as to why it causes such severe pain and numbness.

Treatments, including an epidural injection, have completely failed to provide relief, and surgery has been deemed too risky because surgeons wouldn't know exactly what they were looking to fix. The most frustrating part for Welten is that the pain is entirely isolated to cycling.

"There is no chance of improvement. To give an example: if I go for a two-hour walk, I have no discomfort," he noted. "But if I go for a bike ride with my girlfriend to get an ice cream when the weather is nice, I immediately think it wasn't a great idea. That tingling and numbness return almost immediately."

As the months drag on, the reality of the business of cycling is weighing heavily on his mind. His contract with Picnic PostNL expires at the end of this year, and he knows that without racing, a renewal is highly unlikely.

"It is very tough, but it is the reality. And it is absolutely not easy. Imagine that your work and private life consist 90% of cycling and suddenly you find yourself more busy trying to solve a problem," Welten admitted. "Furthermore, my contract is about to expire. This worries me a lot. I don't have my head in the clouds and I know well how the sports world works. If someone doesn't perform, there is simply no room for them."

Right now, getting back into the peloton isn't even his primary goal. His focus has shifted to wanting a normal and pain-free life on a bicycle. "I can hope all I want, but first you have to be able to get on the saddle and go for a ride. Even before you can train. Only then can you think about racing again," he said.

Welten is currently waiting on the results of his latest medical test. If they don't provide a clear answer, he plans to keep searching for alternative solutions. He acknowledges that he may eventually have to accept that his career is over, but he refuses to do so without exhausting every single option.

"I refuse to resign myself. To say right now that I am throwing in the towel is simply unthinkable to me," Welten stated firmly. "Imagine things don't go well. Then I want to be able to look in the mirror in ten years and say: 'Bram, you really did everything you could.' And then I can accept it. But until then, that is not the case."