Only 24 Hours

I work full time as a sales representative, and I’m on the road four days a week. Alongside that, I work as a firefighter and paramedic. Those shifts are 12 hours, sometimes during the day and sometimes through the night.

Then there’s my family. My wife and I have two boys who are seven and one. I still train and compete at a high level, so my weeks are full. Very full.

Juggling

There is no typical week for me. Sometimes I swim at six in the morning before work. Sometimes I run during the day or in the evening. Sometimes I ride after I finish work. Then there are weeks when I have a shift at the fire station as well. I have to plan those months ahead, sending in my availability and finding where five or eight 12-hour shifts might fit around everything else.

If I’m working a day shift at the station and I am not assigned to the first ambulance, I may be able to do a little strength training inside. But I cannot go outside and do a normal session. I have to stay ready. That is the reality of it.

"There are only 24 hours in a day. You have to decide what deserves your time, and you do not always get it perfectly right."

Sometimes I train too much and do not spend enough time with my family. Sometimes I work too much and don’t train enough. Sometimes something needs more from me for a period, and then later I have to give time back somewhere else.

I don’t have a great system or a secret. I do what I can. When I realise I haven’t given enough time to the people close to me, I try to correct it. That is life. You don’t always make the right choice, but you can recognise it and try to do better.

Support

My wife does a lot. There is no doubt about that. She’s a school teacher, and when I’m away working, training or competing, she takes care of the boys much more than I’m able to. High-level sport asks for sacrifices, and they’re not only mine. They are hers as well.

Without her, I couldn’t continue competing at this level. It’s as simple as that.

Our parents also help us a lot. When one of the children is sick, when our schedules cross, or when I am away for a race, we know there are people around us who can be there. That changes everything.

Recently, while I was away competing, my oldest son had his own race near home, in the under-9 category. My wife was there, my parents were there, and my in-laws were there. I wasn’t there to see it, which is part of the difficulty, but it also meant a lot knowing that he had all of them around him.

When things aren’t going well at work or in sport, you can come home and your family is still there. There is no result you have to produce there. There is no performance. When things are good at home, you can deal with difficult moments elsewhere. But when things are not good at home, even if sport or work is going well, it doesn’t feel right.

This makes family life the most important part of everything I do.

Challenge

Before XTERRA, mountain biking was my sport. I competed in Olympic cross-country mountain biking until 2017, then moved more into marathon mountain biking. In 2019, I became Belgian Mountain Bike Marathon Champion.

After that, I felt I had explored a lot of what I could within mountain biking. During the COVID period, I discovered XTERRA, and suddenly there was something new in front of me.

There were new disciplines to learn, new places to visit and new people to meet. I had to become a more complete athlete. It took me outside what I already knew, and that was exactly what interested me.

Sport has always been a personal challenge for me. It allows me to push my body, to test where my limits are and to see how far I can continue to progress. But it also keeps me healthy, gives me experiences and brings me to places I may never otherwise have seen.

Pressureless

I don’t earn my living through sport. My work supports my family and my life. Racing is something I choose because I enjoy it.

That also means I don’t carry the same pressure as athletes whose livelihood depends on their results. For some athletes, every result affects their income and their future. I respect that, but my situation is different.

For me, the goal is to keep enjoying it and to keep testing myself while I’m still able to compete at this level. Reaching a high level is important because I want to find out what I can do, not because I’m trying to build my life around prize money.

As long as I still have that enjoyment, I will continue.

Together

My oldest son is starting to ride his bike now. Whenever I can, I try to do activities with him. Sometimes I take the dog for a walk while he rides alongside me. Sometimes we go riding together. Sometimes it’s something completely different, as long as we are together.

He has a little brother now, six years younger than him. At the moment, there’s a big difference in age, but he already looks after him and helps us with small things at home. He really loves his little brother. Later, I hope they will be able to do more together too.

One of the nicest things about being a father is being able to pass on experiences. It’s seeing your child grow, improve and discover things for himself. It is being able to make plans together, travel together and spend time outside together.

Sometimes sport becomes part of that. We’ve gone away as a family for events, and there are races where my son can take part as well. At XTERRA France, there is a mini triathlon for children. At other mountain bike events, he can race in his own category before I do mine.

Those weekends become something we share, rather than something I leave home to do alone.

Experiences

One of my best memories in sport was at the 2023 Cross Duathlon World Championship in Ibiza. We went there for a week with family and friends. We went for ice cream every day. We enjoyed the place together. Then my two races went well, and I became world champion.

Winning is special, of course. But being able to share that experience with my family is what makes it so beautiful.

A race can take you somewhere new. It can give you a reason to travel with your wife, your children and your friends. You discover a place together, enjoy a holiday together, and in the middle of it there is also an event you care about.

Some of the places I have been through sport are places I may never have chosen without a race there. That is one of the things I love about it. It opens the door to discovery.

Dreams

I don't push my son to ride his bike. I will never push either of my children into sport.

He sees me doing it, and naturally he wants to try. When I see him on his bike, I can tell he enjoys it. I can give him advice and encourage him, but he’s still very young. There’s no reason to rush anything.

If one day he no longer wants to ride and wants to do something else, that’s completely fine. I was allowed to choose my own path, and I want the same for my children.

Of course, I can imagine us riding together when he is older. Maybe we will go on beautiful road rides or mountain bike rides. Maybe one day we will even compete at the same event. If he has the same competitive side that I have, and I think he probably does, I suspect I will not be able to keep up with him for very long once he grows up.

But that is not the dream I want to force onto him. What I hope to pass on is simpler than that. I hope he finds something he loves. I hope both of my boys find their own passion, enjoy being active, respect other people and learn to give themselves fully to the things they choose.

My wife. My boys. Our parents. Our friends. The rides we will take together. The places we will discover. The days when training fits, the days when it does not, and the evenings when being home is exactly where I need to be.