Victor Lafay (Unibet Rose Rockets) has described six months of debilitating and unexplained fatigue that has prevented him from racing throughout 2026, with extensive medical examinations yet to identify a cause.
In a first-person account published by Rockets Cycling on Tuesday, August 18, Lafay said he felt healthy during the team’s January training camp and on a subsequent trip to China. But after returning to France in February, he began to feel unwell.
“When I was at training camp in January, I was in good shape, and I was feeling normal in China too,” Lafay said. “It was only after I came back to France in February that things started to feel not too good, and I was very tired.”
To begin with, Lafay assumed it was jet lag from the trip to China and cut back on training for several days. However, the fatigue continued, so he contacted the team doctor and underwent blood tests. He also took antibiotics because he feared the return of a stomach bacterium he had previously experienced, but the treatment had no effect.
Further examinations covered his heart and lungs, alongside tests for different viruses. But none explained his symptoms.
“All the results say that I’m healthy,” Lafay said. “We still don’t know what is causing all of this.”
Daily activities leave Lafay needing sleep
Lafay is now so affected by fatigue that everyday tasks such as food shopping need to be followed by sleep as soon as he gets home. Even a small amount of exercise produces the same response.
“If I go grocery shopping, by the time I get home, I just need to sleep,” he said. “I get exhausted so easily. The same happens after even the smallest amount of exercise.”
“It’s not just physical activity either,” Lafay said. “If I go out for dinner with my family or friends, after a couple of hours I simply run out of energy. I can’t focus on the conversation anymore, my eyes start to feel heavy, and all I can think about is going home to sleep.”
Much of the past six months has been spent in bed with his cats, Hubert and Moka.
Lafay said he tries to keep his heart rate at 100-110bpm or below when exercising, making riding in the countryside between Annecy and Aix-les-Bains especially difficult.
“If you do a climb and you want to stay at that heart rate, you’re super slow, like really, really slow,” he said. “It’s impossible.”
He has instead turned to short walks, though even those require caution. “Even walking, I need to think if it is good to do it, or if it is too much,” he said.
Lafay attempted a return during the summer, but it proved unsuccessful. Sports director Sverre Dyngeland Vik subsequently confirmed to DirectVelo that Lafay and the team’s medical staff had decided he should rest and would not race this season.
The absence follows two difficult years affected by illness and persistent knee trouble. Lafay, a stage winner at both the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia, had considered ending his career before joining Unibet Rose Rockets for 2026. He finished second overall at the 2025 Tour of Guangxi before signing with the team.
“I was so enthusiastic at the start of the year, and then everything started to go wrong,” he said. “I am still not feeling good; I’m far from recovered, and that’s tough for me.”
Lafay said messages from supporters had helped during difficult days. He remains unable to give a timetable for returning to competition but said he believes his condition will improve.
“I know that I will get better one day, and I will be able to ride my bike again, to feel strong on my bike again,” he said. “I guess I know it’s just a moment. One moment for me to get through.”
