{"id":120500,"date":"2026-05-13T12:00:51","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T12:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/13\/assault-family-tragedy-kept-tudor-pro-cyclist-away-from-racing-for-months\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T12:00:51","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T12:00:51","slug":"assault-family-tragedy-kept-tudor-pro-cyclist-away-from-racing-for-months","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/13\/assault-family-tragedy-kept-tudor-pro-cyclist-away-from-racing-for-months\/","title":{"rendered":"Assault, family tragedy kept Tudor pro cyclist away from racing for months"},"content":{"rendered":"

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For months, Arvid de Kleijn disappeared from the peloton without explanation. Now, he\u2019s opening up on what happened. And he\u2019s finally ready to race again. The Dutch rider is sharing some personal details about some of the hell he\u2019s endured, and how he overcame it all.<\/p>\n

The Tudor Pro Cycling Team<\/a> sprinter missed a bunch of races and training camps and team. He skipped them because he was dealing with some things behind the scenes that he admits took a huge toll on him mentally, while dealing with a series of personal hardships that, he now says, left him emotionally drained.<\/p>\n

The 32-year-old pro said that when his father was ill with cancer, he wanted to stay close to his family during the final months of his dads\u2019 life.<\/p>\n

A tough time<\/h2>\n

\u201cIt was an incredibly hard few months,\u201d de Kleijn said. \u201cMy dad had cancer, and toward the end, things became very difficult for him and for all of us as a family. I needed to be there. I needed to stay close.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the same time, de Kleijn and his wife were preparing for the birth of their first child.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was beautiful news, of course. But becoming a father while preparing to lose my own dad\u2026 that was emotionally overwhelming,\u201d he said. \u201cI was living between two extremes: joy and heartbreak at the exact same time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Dutch rider turned pro with the Danish squad, Riwal Securitas Cycling Team in 2020, after riding for several Conti teams before. He even had a stint on Human Powered Health<\/a>, riding alongside a few Canucks like current pros Pier Andr\u00e9 C\u00f4t\u00e9 and Nick Zukowsky.<\/p>\n

After his father died in mid-February, de Kleijn said he slowly started rebuilding toward a return to racing. But another incident soon derailed that progress. Something terrifying, which left him both physically and mentally shaken.<\/p>\n

Assault when riding<\/h2>\n

\u201cDuring training, I was stopped by a group of young guys. They shouted at me and chased me. There was no way to reason with them, so I tried to leave,\u201d de Kleijn said. \u201cOne of them punched me in the face several times.\u201d<\/p>\n

The assault left him with a broken nose.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still don\u2019t understand why it happened,\u201d he said. He figures they were drunk, but the toll it left on him was severe. \u201cMore than the injuries, it left me shocked.\u201d<\/p>\n

De Kleijn has not raced since late 2025, but said he never fully stopped training during his absence.<\/p>\n

Now, he is preparing to return this weekend at the Rund um K\u00f6ln. The German race, as you can guess, goes around Cologne for a total of 191km. It has quite the history, dating back to 1908. 2026 willbe its 108th edition. Last year, it was Visma-Lease a Bike\u2019s super star Matthew Brennan who took the win.<\/p>\n

As far as his expectations? De Kleijn is mostly happy just to be back in the mix.<\/p>\n

\u201cI missed racing so much, the adrenaline of the sprint, the atmosphere within the team, all of it,\u201d he said. \u201cRecently, I\u2019ve trained really well and I finally feel ready again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since joining Tudor, de Kleijn has become one of the team\u2019s most successful riders, taking dubs at races including Milano\u2013Torino and stages at Paris\u2013Nice.<\/p>\n

Even after a delayed start to his season, he said his goals have not changed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe I can be competitive,\u201d de Kleijn said. \u201cI want to win again, for myself, for the team, and for everyone who stood by me during this period.\u201d<\/p>\n

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