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“In the last couple of years, the hormone treatment has really tested me,” Allan Peiper says. Prostate cancer’s grip – sometimes loose, other times firm – on him is approaching its decade anniversary. “The radiotherapy has been really hard; chemotherapy has been an absolute nightmare. It has a big effect on your mental and emotional state.” The daily cycle has often gone something like this: “In tears all of the time, not wanting to get out of bed, not enjoying life, struggling with everything because your system is totally shut down. You’re a mess as a human being. No one wants to live like that.”

The Australian, a constant figure in the upper echelons of cycling since the 1980s, has on occasion questioned whether he wanted to live at all, he says: “There have been moments in the middle of treatment where my body has been falling apart and I’ve thought, ‘you know what, I’m just up the hill from the railway tracks. If I just went there…’” The 63-year-old pauses. “It’s not like I was ever going to do that, but it’s the sort of thing you think about because your mind gets so clouded.”

It was November 2014 that Peiper – a winner of 20 professional races during his career – was first diagnosed with prostate cancer, the most frequent type of cancer in men (see ‘risks and diagnosis’, below). “It was earth-shattering. It was disbelief, apathy. Then grief. I felt like the rug had been pulled from under me. How long would I have left? So many questions and I didn’t understand anything. It was very scary.”

Peiper had his prostate removed and recovered, but he began a journey of regular check-ups to monitor the score of his PSA levels (prostate-specific antigen – a potential cancer risk marker). “It’s not like I’ve had cancer and it’s come back – it was never gone. The prostate had broken, the cells had spread through my body. It was like spreading a handful of grass seeds and hoping they didn’t grow.”

In 2020, six years after his initial diagnosis for prostate cancer, Peiper directed Tadej Pogačar to his maiden Tour de France win. “I didn’t even think I’d ever be a directeur sportif anymore and then I won the Tour with Tadej.” He smiles. “There are positives to take out of everything.” The young Slovenian had a special bond with Peiper. “Allan was probably the best DS I ever had,” he said last year. “I really miss him. In 2020 he was so good with the tactical plans, everything he said in the bus, with the programme, it was just perfect.”

He rejoined UAE Team Emirates between December and February as a consultant, but since April has been working in a similar role for Jayco-AlUla. “The job is looking at their performance team, peeling back the layers, examining all levels, and giving my advice and opinion on how things can improve. There are a lot of good things in place. Being involved gives me something to focus on that I know about.”

Peiper’s achievements

Rider: 20 professional wins, Giro d’Italia stage 14, 1990 Paris-Nice prologue, 1985 Critérium du Dauphiné prologue, 1984 Tour of Sweden, 1984 Tour of Picardie, 1984

DS: Tour de France 2020 with Tadej Pogačar Giro d’Italia 2012 with Ryder Hesjedal Tour de Suisse 2018 with Richie Porte World Championship time trial 2018 with Rohan Dennis 2x World Championship team time trial with BMC Racing

From his home in Rozebeke, Belgium, Peiper and I first speak on the eve of the 2023 Giro d’Italia. Life in recent months has been good, but he’s had to pass many dark days to get to this point. “There are moments when I’m really down, don’t want to connect with people, really at rock bottom. But I’ve never felt that I am a victim in all of this. I’ve never said, ‘why me?’ Whatever you want to call it, for me there is a higher force, a reason for all of this. I can’t work it out, but it is what it is.”

More than 80% of men will survive prostate cancer for 10 or more years. “We’ve more or less used up all of the arsenals they’ve got from the operations to chemo to radiotherapy to hormone treatment. It’s been an intensive nine years. It’s hard to bounce back; every time it takes months, but at the same time I feel very lucky and blessed that I’ve had nine years, been able to work most of that time, and still keep the quality of my life relatively high.”

“When I left home at 16, I had a lot of help, living with loads of families in Australia and Belgium. I realised how many people helped me, did things for me, and the big effect that had on my life. I had this vision in my mind of walking down a street holding hands with a little child, looking at myself from the back. I wanted to give something back. The two foster girls come every second weekend and for the holidays. We are their safety net.”

“But then I did a test ride of an e-bike for 10km and it opened up a whole new world for me. Going out for over an hour, in shorts, oil on my legs, stopping for a coffee, being able to grasp what is me, that inner bike rider, it’s motivating. I come back with a buzz, I’ve been in the zone of riding my bike, I’ve thought clearly. “There have been times I’ve stopped and cried for 10 minutes at the side of the road – the bike’s been the biggest therapeutic element for me. When you can source an endorphin buzz, an inner balance, every time you do something, that’s pretty amazing. Cycling is my life. I love this sport.”

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‘The bike’s been the biggest therapeutic element for me’: Former pro and DS Allan Peiper’s battle against prostate cancer

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