Aafke Soet has announced her retirement at the age of 25 after battling anorexia Women’s professional is on the rise with more live television coverage of races than ever before and bigger prize pots.
Dutch rider Aafke Soet has revealed a darker side to the sport after retiring, while racing for one of the world’s biggest teams, after a five-year battle with which she claimed ‘ruined her career’. The 25-year-old had a promising career ahead of her and was European time trial champion in the junior and under-23 age categories, but had a hidden battle.
Announcing her retirement on Soet wrote: "I have been too long ashamed of something that I had to deal with. Something that probably ruined my chances of having a successful career. Cyclist sets sights on Olympic gold after recovering from open-heart surgery "I have suffered from anorexia. I have had an eating disorder for approximately five years, which went up and down, but the destructive thoughts were always there."
After retiring from cycling Soet wants to help her former colleagues and is becoming an ambassador of Dutch organisation Weetwatjedoet, which specialises in ‘preventing eating problems’ and helping ‘healthy performance’ in top level sport offering training for athletes, coaches and parents. Aafke Soet says a five-year anorexia battle ‘ruined her career’ after promising time trial performances as a youngster "I am looking forward to putting my energy, creativity and recovered positivity into joining their mission," Soet added.
"I hope, nobody has to experience, but sadly is very common in […]
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