The race doctor at Volta a Catalunya has said if Sonny Colbrelli had suffered a cardiac episode while he was training alone, or without medical help nearby, it could have the most serious consequences for the Italian rider.
Dr Alex Flor Costa was speaking to Spanish newspaper El Periodico after Colbrelli collapsed and lost consciousness immediately after he sprinted to 2nd place on the opening stage of the race on Monday. The Italian had to be revived at the scene before being taken away to hospital by ambulance.
“If he had had a heart attack during training, without a doctor and especially without a defibrillator nearby, Colbrelli could have died," he said in reference to a defibrillator being used to revive him and an unstable cardiac arrhythmia having since been diagnosed.
Advertisement
For his part, Colbrelli has spoken in the Italian media about looking forward to racing again. However, he says knows the situation was very serious, adding while he had been "lucky", he did not want his career to be over.
Related News
La Gazzetta dello Sport spoke to the director of the cardiology unit of the Girona hospital where Colbrelli was treated, Ramon Brugada. He did not completely rule out the rider returning to racing, though stressed the future was unknown.
He said the issue may be related to a blockage in Colbrelli's heart, could have been brought about by heavy racing or training load or may be genetic. The European champion is set to undergo tests to explore each of those possibilities and the results may not been known and fully analysed for months.
"Every patient is different but we've got to accept his heart called out to stop and we have to listen to the signals," Dr Brugada said. "I know it can be difficult for an athlete to go from racing to a hospital bed. But it is important to understand the reality of what happened and to accept it.
"We have to protect people's health by informing them of every aspect. It will then be up to the person involved, their family and team on what they do next. Some athletes have been able to continue, others have stopped. It's too early to make predictions."
