Belgian cyclist Robin Orins has taken to social media to announce that he will be retiring, aged just 24, having not raced since June, . After battling physical exhaustion and mental illness that has decimated his racing calendar, Orins says his struggle “to find the old Robin” had made him realise there was more to life than cycling.
Posting on Instagram, the Lotto-Intermarché rider, who hails from Heestert near Kortrijk, wrote: “This year, I wanted to return happy instead of unhappy. I wanted to enjoy the bike, the people around me, the suffering and, above all, feel fulfilled again. But things didn’t turn out as hoped. No matter how hard I worked, my body said ‘no’. Now my head and heart are saying ‘no’ too.
“Honestly, this feels like a breath of fresh air. There is more to life than cycling, and I want to discover that with my girlfriend, friends, parents and family,” he added.
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Orins had written previously about his struggles, which began after the 2024 World Road Championships in Zürich, at the end of what had been a successful season for him.
Physical exhaustion led to emotional struggles including panic attacks and, ultimately, much of 2025 away from racing. A hoped-for new start in 2026 has not worked out as planned either, and Orins has not raced since June.
He wrote: “I realised how much energy it had taken and how difficult it was to find the old Robin again. No matter how badly I wanted it, the downs were too frequent.”
And he insisted, “Cycling will always have a place in my heart. Every scar, trophy, tear and smile has its story.”
Orins is not the first young pro to succumb to the high physical and emotional price that cycling exacts.
Back in July EF Education-Oatly rider Kim Cadzow retired after finding that “cycling is no longer my happy place” and had begun to feel “more and more like a punishment”. She is the same age as Orins.
And in the last 12 months, Ide Schelling (formerly XDS-Astana), Jonas Gregaard and Megan Armitage (former teammates of Orins and Cadzow respectively), Lizzie Holden and Marta Cavalli have all retired in their 20s.
Perhaps in the case of Orins, we may not have seen the last of him. “This is not the end of my sporting ambitions,” he says. “As my friends say: “A fox never loses its tricks.”
