Peter Sagan has suffered a heart scare and undergone a cardiac procedure but the three-time road race world champion, now competing in mountain biking, has insisted he will be back racing within weeks.
The issue arose when his heart rate shot above 200bpm, unexpectedly and for no apparent reason, after he had been riding hard at a race last weekend. Medical checks were carried out, revealing and issue with his heart, which has now necessitated a procedure at a clinic in Italy.
"Everything is under control and in just a few days I'll be back on my bike," Sagan said in a brief statement on social media, also sharing a statement from the medical facility where he underwent the procedure.
The Slovakian rider, who plans to ride the MTB race at the Olympics this year, underwent an ablation procedure to correct arrhythmias in the heart. The procedure uses small burns or freezes to cause some scarring on the inside of the heart to help break up the electrical signals that cause irregular heartbeats.
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He now plans to take a break from the bike for up to a week, to aid his recovery, but is intent on racing again, in France, in a little under three weeks. However, his condition - specifically his heart function - was being recorded and observed to assess the impact of the procedure.
On social media Sagan also shared an English translation of the Italian statement issued by the Lancisi University Hospital in Ancona, where he had his procedure.
“The athlete is fine. An internal electrophysiological study was carried out, which excluded any supraventricular or ventricular arrhythmia of pathological significance,” the statement from the hospital said.
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"A subcutaneous event recorder has been implanted which will allow the future monitoring of the athlete.
"The procedure was carried out by Professor Antonio Dello Russo - Director of the Cardiology and Arrhythmology Clinic of the Marche University Hospital - and by his team, with the presence of Dr. Roberto Corsetti - the athlete's trusted cardiologist.”
Sagan (34) retired from road racing, relatively young, at the end of the 2024 season. He had been at the top of the sport since his first big pro win; a stage in Paris-Nice in 2010 aged 20 years.
He said last year his experience of Covid-19, which he contracted several times, had helped him make up his mind to decide 2023 would be his last as a road racer. He is on the 2024 roster of the Slovak Continental team, Pierre Baguette Cycling, and it appears will compete in some smaller road races towards his goal of the MTB race at the Olympics.
Sagan began his career with Slovakian Continental team Dukla Trencin-Merida as a teenager way back in 2009. He moved to the World Tour with Liquigas-Doimo in 2010 and rode for that squad, in its various guises, until the end of the 2014 season.
There followed two seasons at Tinkoff-Saxo, followed by five seasons at Bora-hansgrohe. He concluded with a three-year deal with French team TotalEnergies.
He claimed 121 wins in UCI-ranked races including winning the Worlds three times as well as 12 stages at the Tour de France and the green points jersey seven times. He also won Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders.
