Felipe Nystrom on finding cycling after drugs, explaining van der Poel incident and lack of financing: "I have no sponsors. I depend on a GoFundMe campaign"

Felipe Nystrom is one of the most unique riders in the cyclocross peloton, but also features a story like no other. Recently, he has talked about it once again, and gives insight on how he continues to race in Europe, as well as the Mathieu van der Poel incident in Gavere.

“I started cycling because I was recovering. I was living on the streets in Costa Rica because of drugs and alcohol. At one point I decided to seek treatment and then I moved to the United States," Nystrom told Wielerflits. “In the beginning it was just work, work and work. But I needed something, something healthy. So I started cycling, just to make friends. And through those friends I was introduced to cyclocross. That must have been about five or six years ago. I hated it. I hated it. Everyone said cyclocross was a great sport, but I hated it.”

However his passion came along as he became a successful rider in Costa Rica, and payed for his own trip to Europe in 2020. Having seen the crowds in Namur his interest in the sport changed, and since he's become a popular figure in the field. In Gavere however, it was briefly put into question. He was running on course and took a selfie with a fan, and returning to course he was on the way of Mathieu van der Poel who gave him a push.

The moment caught a lot of attention. However he tells that the reason why he was in that position and running was because he only had one bike in a very muddy race, and it was no longer functional. “I made a mistake, I didn't have to stop running in the middle of the race. But I think it is good to show that the whole story has not been shown. I'm not here to pick up a DNF. I work fifteen hours a day, seven days a week to pay for this."

“At first I felt really bad. Fortunately, Van der Poel was very nice. It was fine. I sent him a letter. I spent six hours translating it into Dutch," the Costa Rican admits. “I sent it to one of his people and they told me he really liked the letter. Then we also talked, after the cross. He was very nice. He didn't make a problem of it.” Nystrom has continued to race, however it is not guarranteed that he'll be able to take up the spot that is available for him at the World Championships in Tabor.

“The plan was to stay in Belgium until the World Championships. But due to the incident in Gavere, financial support is no longer available," he explains. "I understand that and it's okay, but now I have to pay for everything myself. I have no sponsors. I depend on a GoFundMe campaign. At the moment it looks like I'm going to have to leave early. Unless something changes at the last minute.”