The auditorium of De Meyer funeral home was full. Mayor of Hoogstraten Marc Van Aperen and Flemish Prime Minister Jan Jambon, who lives in Brasschaat, also came to express their support. The service could be followed at home via a livestream. At the front were his red bicycle and his framed tricolor cycling jersey of the Belgian student champion. His parents Rudy and Kathy, sister Laura, brother Kevin and his girlfriend Jill carried Jonas in to the sounds of De Roos by Ann Christy. His sister placed Jonas’ birth cuddly toy, a Winnie the Pooh, next to his urn.
Sister Laura, with Jonas’s red bicycle next to her on the left, and behind her father Rudy as support. Right: Jonas Bresseleers — © Sarah Van den Elsken
Just before that moment, a crazy video of Jonas with his friends was shown during the centenary celebration at the Stella Matutina secondary school in Wuustwezel. Literally chatting during a Tyrolean song. Many people laughed. It showed the contrast in Jonas, the boy who could be funny and crazy. The slob too and the fopper who suddenly came to sit on the couch at home during the Red Devils’ match against the Netherlands in a completely orange outfit. On the other hand, Jonas, the would-be cycling professional, was super focused and prepared, the guy who never drank a drop of alcohol.
Upstairs in a room, people could follow the service on a screen. — © Sarah Van den Elsken
Songs were played that were all from his playlist. “Jonas, you reached the finish far too early. There is barely anything visible on your bicycle. Your helmet was crushed, but there was nothing on your body except a head wound. Five years ago the unthinkable happened to your friend Stef Loos. His photo was on your bedside table, you went to his grave. Your Voke died at the end of January, a death that touched you deeply, because your Voke was your biggest supporter. And now you,” said the ceremony leader. “You were not only a promising rider, you were a beautiful person.”
Koen Haemels from De Dijlespurters: “2024 would be your year”. — © Sarah Van den Elsken
Jonas studied chemistry at college and successfully completed his exams in February. He dreamed of a job in the port, at Ineos, so that he could still train on rollers in the control room. But first he wanted to become a professional cyclist. 2024 was a crucial year, with the Belgian Championship in his own Brasschaat. All his family members found the strength to speak out themselves. “Hi little one,” said sister Laura, who was very close to her brother. He had also infected her with the cycling bug. “I will miss the discussions at the table about chemistry and mathematics. You were so much more than my brother, you were my best friend. How I would love to die in your wheel again.”
Highest scaffold as a brother
Jonas looked up at his big brother Kevin. As a child he wanted to do everything Kevin did: scouts, horse riding, football, music school. He liked classics and regularly put Klara on in the car. Kevin brought Almdudler zero from Winterberg for Jonas, because you won’t find that here. “I would give anything to be able to ride wild with you one more time. You made our family whole. You may never have been on the highest stage as a rider, but as a brother you deserve this place.”
At the front his sweater and his bicycle among a sea of flowers. — © Sarah Van den Elsken
A day without training was a day wasted. He cycled 50 to 200 kilometers a day, even in the rain. Last week, dad Rudy cycled with Jonas’ teammates to Scherpenheuvel to light a candle, as Jonas himself sometimes did during this period.
Memorial Jonas Bresseleers
Koen Haemels of De Dijlespurters described Jonas as a super-motivated leader, their leader. The competition he was exploring in Meer during his accident will be called Memorial Jonas Bresseleers. The course will pass the spot where Jonas was hit by a truck. There will also be a memorial there. “You would have shone. 2024 was going to be your season. You recently organized a training ride along your beloved Oesterdam. We will continue to do that ride every year with you in mind. Den Bres will always keep pedaling, you will always keep riding. If there is a cycling heaven, you are certainly explaining to Monseré, Vandenbroucke and Pantani what FTP is.”
“2024 was going to be your season. You would have shined. You recently organized a training ride along your beloved Oesterdam. We will continue to do that ride every year with you in mind. Den Bres will always keep pedaling, you will always keep riding”
Koen Haemels
The Dijlespurters
According to his teammates Xander and Ward, Jonas was ready for the professional peloton. His four best friends from high school in Wuustwezel also painted the portrait of an honest friend with a heart of gold.
Brother Kevin and his girlfriend Jill. — © Sarah Van den Elsken
Even the two golden retrievers Sissi and Vino are lost at home and grieving hard. “No one is to blame, only fate. The driver is also a victim,” say his parents Rudy and Kathy. They know that Jonas himself would have seen it this way. He was not vindictive, saw the good in everyone, hated reproaches, gossip and backbiting. According to his mother, Jonas was very grateful for all the efforts the family made in support of his cycling career. “You said thank you a thousand times,” his mother said. Jonas was also someone who wanted everyone to be happy. When the family suffered a blow in November and mother did not want to put up a Christmas tree, Jonas ensured that it was still an unforgettable Christmas with tree, balls and decorations. “We should have known it would be Voke’s last Christmas, but not yours.”
Father Rudy received the bad news in January that he is ill again. “You made a deal together. Dad would fight, and you would give 100 percent to sports and school. Sweet, crazy boy, I’m going to miss you.”
Jonas Bresseleers, on the left a drawing of Winnie the Pooh, the figure of which he had a birth cuddly toy that now stood next to his urn. — © kma
Jonas’ mental coach Anja wrote a text that all attendees received on a card after the service. She read it out herself. “We can find meaning, even if it is difficult. I’m going to try to be a little more Jonas every day. Even if it is only 25 percent. If everyone participated, the world would be much, much more beautiful.”
Jonas’s urn went home. He liked being home. He once said that he was going to live at home forever. “I never thought it would be in this form.” Some ashes go to Lucca in Tuscany. That’s where Jonas preferred to be, he dreamed of buying a house there later.
