All Rounder
DOB 24-10-2000
AGE OF DIAGNOSIS 15
YEARS WITH TEAM 1
“Keep believing in yourself!”
PROFILE
22-year-old Belgian all rounder Quinten De Graeve is the latest addition to the Team Novo Nordisk professional team in 2023, making a mid-season jump from the development team to the senior ranks after impressing in the first half of the season.
De Graeve hails from Knesselare in the region of East Flanders in Belgium and like most young Belgians, De Graeve grew up wanting to be a cyclist and started riding from an early age alongside his stepfather, godfather and Aunt who bought him his first racing bike.
At 15 years of age De Graeve started suffering from leg cramps, and eccessive need to urinate and severe dehydration. A diagnosis of type 1 diabetes soon followed and despite the initial shock, De Graeve was encouraged by his doctor and family to quickly get back on the bike and start adjusting to life with T1D.
Not long after, De Graeve stated to compete locally on the road and then in 2022 traveled to Italy to take part in the Team Novo Nordisk Talent ID camp and was selected to race with the development team in 2023.
The rest is history, the 22-year-old stood out after a great start to the season in European races and in June made the step up to the senior pro team and competed successfully at the Tour of Denmark in August.
There isn’t really an ‘off the bike’ for De Graeve as in his spare time he enjoys working on bikes and spending time with his girlfriend Justine.