Not from a cycling family, Robbe got into cycling more through chance than anything else. Initially he was a runner, with a lot of success too, which included the Belgian title at his age level. Yet, after suffering from an injury he looked for another sport and naturally…in Belgium…found cycling.
He was already somewhat a fan of the sport, watching cyclocross with Sven Nys one of his early idols, who “crushed it in the mud.” From there, Robbe started following road racing as well as he began competing, mixing both disciplines himself and eventually moving up the ranks to where he is now, as after spending two seasons with the Development program, 2025 sees Robbe make the step-up to the Men’s program.
“When I started cycling, I think every little guy who watched the TV has their dreams of being between those guys and turning pro once day, so it’s a dream come true, but now it’s happening you look forward to the next steps and goals.”
Robbe has had more than his fair share of bad luck due to illness or injury in his two years competing with the Development program, but the young Belgian takes a pragmatic and very mature outlook from that.
“The lows will make the highs better. You must keep fighting, remain motivated and be disciplined. Things could have gone better of course, but you can still learn a lot from everything you go through, and it’s been good to have the two years with the Development program. Now I want to get better and learn even more from the other guys.”