# Jenno Berckmoes Delays Season Debut Due to Health Issues
2025 is proving to be a challenging year for cyclist Jenno Berckmoes. Following his team training camp in Denia, Spain, at the beginning of January, he had ambitious plans to spend three weeks at altitude in Tenerife to gear up for the spring classics. Unfortunately, Berckmoes had to truncate that training session, only managing seven days before illness struck.
“I quickly felt that something was off,” Berckmoes revealed. “One day I felt fine, the next I didn’t. I had headaches, got tired extremely quickly, and felt lightheaded. I wasn’t seriously ill, but it was like my battery was constantly drained.”
It took time to pinpoint the underlying issue. “I even descended to sleep at a lower altitude, but nothing really helped. Eventually, we found significantly high inflammation levels in my blood and a bacterium in my body—possibly from food poisoning, though we may never know for sure. In any case, I’m now on antibiotics,” he explained.
As a result of these health concerns, Berckmoes has no choice but to postpone his season start. His bike remained untouched for an entire week, but he resumed training four days ago. “I was originally set to race Classic Var and Alpes-Maritimes this weekend, followed by the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad to kick off the classics season. That plan is now off the table. First, I need to rebuild and make up for the training deficit. However, my first training sessions have been reassuring—I’m making progress. I hope to return for Strade Bianche and be as close to top form as possible by Milan-Sanremo,” he added.
With a commitment to recovery and determination to get back into top shape, Jenno Berckmoes remains hopeful for his upcoming races.
*Picture: Brecht Steenhouwer*
