Lidl-Trek's manager shares his moving story about living with lymphoma: "When you see that love..."

"It was during my flight to the 2021 Tour de France when I first started to feel bad," Guercilena recalls. "I had back and belly pain, feelings that weren’t common, and during the first two weeks of the Tour I’d wake up in the night with pain everywhere. I went for a scan on the second rest day in Andorra, and I found out that there were some black spots in my stomach and elsewhere in my body. I drove home to Milan and went straight to hospital. In early August, it was confirmed that I had lymphoma. It was not a happy moment, of course, but the doctors told me it was treatable with a good possibility of success. I started treatment in September with chemotherapy and immunotherapy, and after three months I was already in remission. But that’s when the issues really started."

"From April 2022 to January 2024, I was essentially positive for Covid the whole time, and I contracted pneumonia seven times, as well as other different viruses and bacteria which affected my body. My immune system was barely functioning. I was working a little bit, albeit mostly remotely, and secured the co-title sponsorship of Lidl, but in October 2023 things got really bad. By December 2023, I weighed 58kg – I normally weigh 78kg – and all of my organs were locked up; none of them were working anymore. I couldn’t breathe independently so was on an oxygen mask 24/7, and my liver was so intoxicated from all the different medications that I was almost yellow like a Simpson. I had no muscles and wasn’t able to stand up because of all the cortisone and medications. I was allowed home for one week at Christmas, but it was more like, ‘Luca, this will be your last time with your family."

In December 2023, Guercilena seriously considered that he would not recover and might even die. "At that moment, it didn’t look like there would be any more treatment available, and the quality of life I had at the time – lying down on a bed for 40 days at a time followed by a week at home – was not pleasant for anyone. It was stressful, and my family were suffering way more. I have two adult kids aged 26 and 21, and seeing the sadness in their eyes hurt – but they were a reason to keep pushing, to keep fighting. When you see that love, you need to give love back."

And so Guercilena refused to admit defeat. "I returned to hospital after Christmas – I spent 160 nights in hospital beds in 10 months – and some different treatments started to work a little bit and I could breathe by myself again, but I was affected by other strong viruses. The moment when I thought I really wasn’t going to make it was when the physiotherapist and two other doctors tried to help me stand up from the bed, and I still wasn’t able to. I had no muscles left, and my nerves weren’t working. That was a really dark moment. I was in a hospital ward where people were passing away, and when I saw my own body not reacting, I was thinking it was clear that I too didn’t have a lot of time left."

"I was not feeling the drama itself, but I knew of the pain being felt of the people around me," Guercilena continues. "I didn’t want to leave my wife, kids, parents, family and friends, and that made me fight because I knew that there were so many people still hoping I’d stay around for a bit more time.In February 2024, I was allowed to go home again, but I was still on a big tank of oxygen all day, and I was sleeping downstairs because I couldn’t walk up the stairs. Every day I’d try to walk 10 metres or two minutes more, and I said that because I hadn’t seen the team in the new kit since Lidl joined, I wanted to be at the start of Milan-Sanremo. It was a big motivation for me and I managed to make it to say hi to some friends. I was still on medication and it was a struggle, so I went home early, but then said I needed to be at a stage of both the Giro and the Tour. I watched a lot of races during my recovery, and having a men’s, women’s and development team who were winning lots of races really helped me. Now I’m back to normal, more or less."

Nevertheless, uncertainty continues to play a role in Guercilena's life. "It’s not pleasant to think every day that it can come back, but you have to live no matter what; I prefer to look forward rather than back. Today, I can cycle again, ride my bike for 80-90km, but the elasticity of my lungs is not the same which affects the amount of oxygen intake so I have to cycle with a very low heart rate. I miss the competitive element of riding with my friends, but if going slow is the bill to pay for being able to live, that’s a nice bill to pay," says the Italian realistically.

Guercilena does not want to portray himself as a victim. "My story is the same as many others, and not any more dramatic. I don’t need charity because I have what I have. I’m lucky I am still here to tell this story. I don’t know how much longer I’ll have left, but that’s something we just need to cope with. My message I’d like to give is to fight every day – there is honour in the fight. Just keep going," the Italian concludes inspiringly.