‘Special Forces’ brings back a very traumatic experience for Jan Bakelants

The first episode of ‘Special Forces’ started with a very difficult swimming test in the sea where Jan Bakelants did not have an easy time. Water was also the common thread of the entire story in the second episode.

The participants had to climb a rope ladder, among other things. However, it hung in a waterfall 20 meters high. When he reached the top, it was a confrontational image with a traumatic experience from his career as a cyclist.

To do this he must go back in time seven years. “In 2017 I missed a bend in a descent during the Lombardy Tour,” he explains to Het Laatste Nieuws. “As a result, I fell about 20 feet into a deep ravine.”

Never in danger of death

The consequences were very serious: a broken back and seven broken ribs. “I also suffered a compression fracture in four vertebrae, which made me half a centimeter shorter.”

That experience was quite intense for the former rider. “I was never in danger of dying, but after that fall I immediately felt that I could no longer stand up. For a moment I feared that I would never be able to walk again.”