Wietse Bosmans is currently going through a very dark period. The 23-year-old cyclo-cross rider from BKCP-Powerplus has a chronic form of Lyme disease and this week he will start a new treatment. "I will do everything to be back to normal."

"Last year I had a very dark period and recently it has continued. It's been one and a half year that has been very difficult, but occasionally there has been a bright spot," Wietse Bosmans tells Sporza.

23-year-old Bosmans has a form of chronic Lyme disease. "You can get the disease from contaminated food or from a tick bite.

"It may have been a combination for me, but we have no certainty. The disease can cause a lot of damage in your body, physically but also mentally.”

The double U23 vice world champion even thought that he would have to hang up the bike permanently. "In difficult moments, I have often thought that maybe it was best to just get off the bike and start to work with some kind of construction. Money does not interest me. I will only be happy when I am the old Wietse.

"I have never done my sport for the money. It has always been out of passion and love for cycling. There are many days when I climbed the walls but that has to stop at some point.

The teammate of world champion Mathieu van der Poel has had lots of support in the difficult periods.

"I have received a lot of support, even from people I did not expect anything. Most of the support I received from my neighbors, family, friends, my girlfriend, the team and the teammates.

"But there are also people who were not close to me from which I had not expected anything.

"Many people start to question whether you think I do not have enough passion for my profession. Or they think it is a mental problem, that I can’t make enough sacrifices. Then you naturally end up in a vicious circle."

Bosmans recently announced that he suffers from a chronic form of Lyme disease. This week he starts a new treatment. "From next Monday I will start the first part of the treatment. It will last for twelve weeks, every six weeks I will get an intravenous drug.”

"After twelve weeks, we will make an initial assessment, and we will see how my body handles everything. Then the professor will decide what steps remain to be taken. Eventually they have now can give me a clear answer. I a chronic form of Lyme disease, but I have 95 percent chance to recover well.”

Despite the new setback, Bosmans is determined to win the battle against the disease. "If I am not able to recover completely, I have nothing to reproach myself. But I will do anything. I'll still have difficult moments, but there are plenty of people who will help me to get through them.

"There is only one way and that's forward. There are many people who have it much worse than me. If I was not interested, I would just skip everything. But that’s not the plan.”

The whole story even has a positive consequence. "In the difficult periods I have learned a lot. I have become much more mature. I think differently about certain things. That's a positive side to the whole story."