Uno-X Pro Cycling's Niklas Eg has just become the latest professional cyclist forced to retire immediately due to heart problems. His decision has come just days after Wesley Kreder (Cofidis) confirmed he was calling a halt to his career after suffering a heart attack at the end of August.
Eg, a 28-year-old from Denmark, rode his last race - La Route d'Occitanie - in France in mid June. However, he then suffered unexplained spikes in his heart rate while training and has now been forced to call a halt to his cycling career.
Worryingly, the cause of his irregular heart beat has not yet been identified, though the former World Tour rider - with Trek-Segafredo - said it was impossible to continue in the sport given his condition.
Eg and Kreder are just latest pro cyclists to be forced to bring their careers to an end due to heart problems, with Jumbo-Visma's Nathan van Hooydonck also forced into immediate retirement just weeks ago. He suffered acute cardiac issues while he was driving. He crashed his car in Belgium and had to be revived.
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He has since been fitted with an internal defibrillator to correct potential future cardiac arrhythmia. His condition follows a similar outcome for former European road race champion Sonny Colbrelli, the then Bahrain Victorious rider who almost died in similar circumstances after collapsing immediately after the opening stage of Volta a Catalunya last year.
Aside from Eg, van Hooydonck and Colbrelli, Kreder, who competed for Cofidis for the last two seasons, has also been forced to call a halt to his cycling career after suffering a heart attack at the end of August while in bed.
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He was unresponsive when taken to hospital and has since been advised by medics and that he should not continue his career; advice the 32-year-old Dutch rider has now taken. He first signed with a Continental team back in 2009 and rode his career at ProConti and World Tour level.
In July, Belgian classics rider Sep Vanmarcke (34) announced his retirement from the sport, having spent the last three seasons with Israel Premier Tech, winning Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Bretagne Classic and Maryland Classic.
He experienced an abnormally high heart rate while on the bike, with a subsequent cardiac MRI confirming the presence of scar tissue, carrying the risk of further cardiac complications.
In 2018, Michael Goolaerts (Veranda's Willems Crelan) died in hospital following a cardiac arrest during Paris-Roubaix, which caused him to crash during the event.
In 2016, Paris-Roubaix winner Johan Vansummeren was forced to retire from the sport due to ongoing heart problems. Australian Michael Rogers was also forced out of the sport in he same year due to heart problems when under contract with the Tinkoff team.
Daan Myngheer suffered a heart attack at the Criterium International in March, 2016, and young Dutch rider Gijs Verdick died in the Under-23 Carpathian Couriers Race in Poland in May of the same year.
While Robert Gesink has also had heart problems around the same time, he was able to continue and is still competing with Jumbo Visma though he has been able to continue racing. Others to suffer cardiac issues in recent times include Niels Albert, Nick Nuyens, Klaas Lodewyck, Oliver Kaisen and Vasil Kiryienka.
