'He's saying cancer. I start bawling my eyes out' - Declan Irvine's journey through diabetes, a life-changing disease and the unstoppable path for third UCI Gravel World Championships qualification

If there is one person who has the most riding on a top finish at the Sea Otter Europe gravel race in Girona this weekend, it is Declan Irvine, the Australian multi-discipline rider now based in the cycling-centric Spanish city. He's targeting a podium, but a finish in the top 25% will guarantee him a spot in his third UCI Gravel World Championships, which is a month away in his home country.

This could be a fairytale ending to his remarkable 2026, an eighth season as a pro with Team Novo Nordisk. But in fact, the voyage to even ride this year has been more of a nightmare. Last year, one word changed his life - cancer.

Until 2025, type 1 diabetes was his health concern, but he said it was "not a barrier". He was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 12 and turned to sports, racing as a junior in triathlons, then represented Australia at the World Duathlon Championships and later on the road, winning the New South Wales road race and criterium state titles. He joined Novo Nordisk for road cycling full-time in 2019.

He added gravel to his road programme in 2022 and two years later saw bigger results with a top 10 on a Tour of Hainan stage plus 10th at Gravelista, a UCI Gravel World Series event in Australia, 21st at Big Sugar Gravel and 24th at Unbound Gravel 200, even after a mechanical.

"Last year I put all my energy into doing Unbound well and then got my catastrophic failure that kind of ruined my race. I was really salty because I just put so much energy into it, and then for it to all be like just taken away in two seconds, it was a bit shit.

"Then my whole perspective kind of changed."

Life changed one month after this disappointment in Kansas. He went on to finish the Baloise Belgium Tour and was at elevation camp with his team when he "felt a weird sensation in my groin" and scheduled a visit with his doctor. A scrotal ultrasound was next, but at a medical office in Girona, a non-English-speaking technician wasn't subtle with the news.

"He's saying 'no good' and then 'cancer'. I start bawling my eyes out, because I lost my mind," said Irvine.

"The next minute he's bringing in this young receptionist, and I've got like my pants around my ankles, and she's just kind of looking at the ceiling, embarrassed. 'He says that you've got cancer'. I'm just sitting there crying.

"Yeah, that kind of put a lot into perspective last year, like racing took a back step, and I just wanted to get healthy."

Catching it 'super early'

Irvine had said that his diabetes was not a barrier, but a cancer diagnosis was a whole new challenge. He was a student of how to take care of his body, and that knowledge helped him with a shorter recovery time, one that avoided chemotherapy.

His medical team ran tests to confirm the testicular cancer diagnosis and reviewed findings from results using three key indicators to determine the best treatment. While two of the markers were "fine", the CK level, or Creatine Kinase biomarker for muscle damage, was "really, really high". Chemotherapy was announced as the only treatment.

"I was like, 'Oh, look, I have this test really often because it's a test we do with the UCI and the team. This marker is also for muscle damage, and because I'm an athlete and I train really hard, this could be inflated, not because of the cancer, but because of the muscle damage.

"They were adamant that I was going to have to do chemo, and I said, 'Look, let's repeat the test in a week'. I'll have one week completely off the bike, and I won't do anything. I'll lay on the lounge, and I'll try and get this level down with no exercise'. I wanted to prove my point that it's exercise-induced, not cancer-induced."

A week later, the CK level was back to normal. That meant he would have surgery, but no chemo.

He was bed-bound for two weeks after surgery, his partner Courtney Wevers at his side in Girona for physical and emotional support. After taking three months off, Irvine was back on the bike at the UCI Gravel World Championships in the Netherlands, finishing 26 minutes off the winning pace of Florian Vermeersch (Belgium), yet ahead of 100 other riders.

"This race wasn’t about a result. My goal was only to put on the green and gold kit and get back on the start line, doing what I love, and I’m so happy to have done that," he said on social media after the Worlds.

The 2026 season had him back to routine business, on the road with Novo Nordisk at La Roue Tourangelle, where he was named most aggressive rider, as well as Tour of Turkey and Tour of Denmark. In between, he mixed in another Unbound Gravel 200.

"My doctor, she said, the biggest problem with testicular cancer is that when boys feel something's wrong, we just don't do anything about it. We caught it super early, that was what saved me."

There's no place like home

When Cyclingnews caught up with Irvine at this year's Unbound Gravel, he had unfinished business in Kansas, eager to avoid major mechanicals like the last two times and get through the mud in Kansas, cleanly. This time he competed in the open category to see how he'd do, rather than the elite division, and finished third.

He did not have any expectations to qualify for the UCI Gravel World Championships in Nannup this spring, as he had road races on his calendar for the rest of the year. But he was proud that Australia had a "proper gravel" course for the competition.

"I think it's going to be the best world championship so far, because it's like 100% on gravel. It's a real race [for gravel]. Last year in the Netherlands it was kind of a Classics race, and also the previous year in Belgium. This world championship is going to be a real world championship [for gravel].

"It could be a good year for the diehard gravel guys to win the Worlds, because the last few years, it's been won by WorldTour riders. Three years ago in Italy, when America put a really good team together, Keegan Swenson still did well.

"I don't think a lot of the WorldTour guys will go, only the diehard gravel people. I think they're all freaking good guys, and the WorldTour guys do rock up to gravel races. It does kind of put in perspective the level that they're at."

His last stage race was the 2.Pro-level Tour of Denmark, where he helped team leader Filippo Ridolfo to a top-25 on GC, despite several crashes. He took some time off, and the team gave him the green light for more gravel. Now the Newcastle native has qualification, or at least a wildcard entry, to earn in order to make the long trip to Western Australia for the Gravel World Championships.

"My family's in Australia, my mum and dad and all the rest of my family. It's hard to reach, like the complete opposite side of the country where I come from," Irvine admitted.

"I'm just grateful that I'm still here and able to do it. I still like to race, and I want to push myself."

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