“Those who have followed similar cases, such as that of the soccer player Christian Eriksen -suffered a similar mishap during the last European Championship-, who like me, has a defibrillator and has resumed his professional career, made an assessment. But cycling is not football. It is a different sport; you ride through the streets & rdquor ;. The emotional letter that Sonny Colbrelli has made public this Sunday, through his team, Bahrain, is an open book where the cyclist tells the reasons why he has decided to leave professional cycling after suffering a cardiac arrest on March 21 , after finishing the first stage of the Volta a Catalunya, in Sant Feliu de Guíxols, in second position.
Since then, the 32-year-old Italian runner, who gained enormous fame in his country after winning Paris-Roubaix in 2021 under daunting conditions, has been struggling to resume his sports activity. But the Italian authorities do not allow competition with a defibrillator – which is why Eriksen he left the ‘calcium’ – apart from the danger posed by any coronary mishap on a road far from the attention with which a footballer can find himself in a stadium or during training.
A week in Girona
Colbrelli He spent a week at the Josep Trueta hospital in Girona where the evaluation, later confirmed in his country, determined that he suffered from an unstable cardiac arrhythmia that required defibrillation.
The runner flew to Italy and entered the Cardiology Clinic of the University of Paduawhere he underwent a cardiovascular examination coordinated by Professor Domenico Corrado. Based on the results, according to the cyclist and the Bahraini medical staff, Colbrelli underwent a successful subcutaneous defibrillator (ICD) implantation procedure; a life-saving device that works to correct the rhythm of the heart if necessary in extreme cases.
“After what happened in Catalonia, I never lost hope of being able to continue being a professional cyclist even if it was minimal. She knew that the way back would be difficult with a defibrillator. But, in Italy, it is not allowed by law. I didn’t give up anyway. I resumed training under strict medical supervision and underwent several visits and consultations with specialists & rdquor ;, continues Colbrelli.
The cyclist adds that it was then that he contacted the doctors who treated Eriksen. “Cycling is not practiced on a football field, where, if necessary, the interventions of the medical team may be appropriate. Their training activities take place in a limited area, whereas in the case of a runner, you often find yourself alone for hours on little-traveled roads.”
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He spoke with his wife, with his parents, with his friends, with those in charge of his team and, of course, with the doctors who followed his evolution after the cardiac arrest suffered in Sant Feliu de Guixols. “I could remove the defibrillator. I admit I considered it. But, as I say, cycling is different from football. For the reasons mentioned, but above all, also because of the intensity of the effort. Removing the defibrillator was against medical practice and it meant pulling out a lifeline that was needed as secondary prevention. Too high a risk. A risk I cannot afford to take. For me, for the opportunity that life has given me, for God in whom I believe. For Adelina, my wife, for Vittoria and Tomaso, my children. And for my parents & rdquor ;.
European Champion in 2021, in his best year as a rider, the cyclist who was looking for the ideal preparation in this year’s Volta to try a second victory in Paris-Roubaix a few weeks later, Colbrelli Now he resigns to continue as a professional athlete. “I say goodbye to cycling and try to do it with a smile. I learned what life offers and what life takes away. I am ready to keep trying to be a champion, like on the bike. I stay in my team where I will be an ambassador. I was delighted to see how the children have taken me as a model in recent months. I prepare myself for new challenges and I want to do it with a smile on my face.”