The reigning Belgian women's elite national champion in cyclo-cross, Marion Norbert Riberolle, has been forced to cut her season short following a diagnosis of cardiac arrhythmia.
The 27-year-old, born in Troyes, France, and representing France until she changed her nationality to Belgian in 2021, shared an emotional post on her Instagram page on Saturday, including an image of her smiling in her hospital bed.
"Life had other plans for me, and I didn’t see it coming," Norbert Riberolle posted. "Weeks full of training, getting ready for the new cyclocross season, and making memories with my favourite people. I was so excited for the new season coming, but suddenly, everything had to come to a stop."
According to Wielerflits, the team responded quickly to the Crelan-Corendon rider's health concerns. The team doctors ordered medical tests after a disappointing start to the 2026-2027 cyclo-cross season, which saw her finish 8th in Ardooie ten days ago, having previously been unable to finish the race in Dendermonde.
Norbert Riberolle was subsequently diagnosed with a cardiac arrhythmia, for which she has since undergone surgery. No further complications were revealed, and it is hoped that the former under-23 world champion, who won three races in the 2025-2026 season, can return to training within the coming weeks under the supervision of her team's medical staff. No return date has been set yet.
Norbert Riberolle described the event as "An unexpected pause and a lot to process. Not the start to the season I had hoped for, but right now, my health comes first." She went on to conclude she is "Taking it one day at a time and looking forward to getting back on my bike."
The back-to-back Belgian national champion holds the somewhat unique honour of having been national champion for two different nations; first for France, in 2020, in the same year she took glory in the under-23 women's race at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Dübendorf, Switzerland, before she changed her nationality to compete under the Belgian flag.
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She has also ridden on the road for Fenix-Deceuninck's development squad since 2024, and achieved a top-20 finish at the Antwerp Port Epic Ladies classic in 2026, finishing 18th. In 2025, she finished 7th at the Dwars Door het Hageland among elite company, including that day's winner, SDWorx-ProTime's Lorena Wiebes.
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Katy Madgwick is a freelance writer and broadcaster, covering multiple disciplines across both men's and women's pro cycling. Katy has written for a broad range of publications, and is a regular contributor to Cyclist Magazine, Cyclingnews, TNT Sports and The Roadbook Cycling Almanack.
On the broadcast side, she is makes regular appearances on Track Radio and is an occasional contributor to BBC Radio, and featured as an expert guest on CADE Media's Pro Show podcast in 2025.
She is a lover of all things French and a cyclo-cross obsessive, and probably ought to get on her actual bike more often.
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