6 YEARS OLD
10 APRIL 2006
Mountain biking has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. On the day I was born, my father was already running a professional mountain bike team. In our home, the bike was never just an object — it was a language, a culture, a way of life.
I grew up with early-morning departures, race numbers pinned on in the cold, the smell of grease, and weekends spent at races. Very early on, that world became mine.
Consistent victories across Belgian youth competition circuit
2014 winner + podiums in 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
Regional team, 2017–2019
In 2019, everything came to a sudden stop — not from a crash, not from a major injury. I simply lost my breath. Gradually, breathing became difficult. Performances dropped without any clear explanation.
For a long time, the causes remained unclear. The diagnosis came late, results disappeared, and with them, the support of the federation. At just 13 years old, I found myself forced to put on hold the very thing that had shaped my life since childhood.
When sport has been at the center of your identity for as long as you can remember, no longer being able to perform means losing far more than results. For two years, I watched the races from a distance. The passion never disappeared — it remained as strong as ever, but it also became painful.
A condition where the larynx partially closes during intense exercise, restricting airflow and causing performance to collapse dramatically — with no visible injury and no clear external cause. The breakthrough: learning this condition can improve over time. For the first time in a long while, returning to the highest level became a real possibility.
Watching from the sidelines. Passion intact. Body unknown.
Racing on an Olympic course at my age, after everything it took to get there, gave even more meaning to the work behind it. A defining moment in my first professional season.
End of first professional season. Alongside 13th Belgian Elite.
Opening round. Battling with the world's elite just one month into the season.
National federation recognition — earned through results, not given freely.
Japan, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Netherlands, France.
At the same time as I pursue my sporting career at the highest level, I am building FL:EYE — a sports eyewear micro-business that fits naturally within my world.
This entrepreneurial project allows me to learn, to build, and to lay foundations for a sustainable future, while staying true to the environment that has driven me since childhood.
Performance is my identity on the bike. FL:EYE is proof that identity extends beyond the finish line.
I know what it means to be seen as a promise. I also know what it means to be held back, forgotten, and forced to rebuild everything. I know what doubt, uncertainty, and years of work in the shadows feel like. And today, I know it is possible to come back — stronger, clearer, and more determined.
Behind every athlete moving forward, there are people, partners, and supporters who chose to believe at the right time.
