The Italian preferred to end his career at 32 after a very serious alert last March.
Italian Sonny Colbrelli, victim of cardio-respiratory arrest during the Tour of Catalonia cycling in March, has decided to end his career at the age of 32, he announced in a press release on Sunday. of his team Bahrain Victorious.
«I say goodbye to cycling, I try to do it with a smile remembering all that it has given me, even if it hurts to say goodbye after the season that I have achieved, the best of my career“said Colbrelli who, in 2021, had won Paris-Roubaix, as well as the titles of champion of Italy and Europe.
Colbrelli had lost consciousness, victim of a cardio-respiratory arrest, on March 21 in Sant Feliu de Guixols just after the first stage of the Tour of Catalonia, in which he was ranked 2nd.
The medical services had performed cardiac massage before transporting him to the University Hospital of Girona where it was found that he suffered from cardiac arrhythmia
He then had to ask a subcutaneous defibrillator (DSC), like the Danish international Christian Eriksen, victim of discomfort during a match of the last Euro.
To resume his career, at Brentford, then Manchester United, Eriksen had to terminate his contract with Inter Milan, because this type of device is considered in Italy to be incompatible with sports that put a lot of strain on the cardiovascular system.
Colbrelli found himself in the same situation.
«After what happened in Catalonia, the hope of continuing my professional career never abandoned me, but if I was aware that this hope was reduced“, explained the Italian rider who resumed cycling “under medical supervision».
«But cycling is not football, it’s a different sport, where the competition takes place on roads, not in stadiums where emergency services can intervene quickly if necessary.“, he explained.
«There is also and above all the intensity of the efforts. Removing the defibrillator is not an option from a medical point of view, because it is necessary to protect me and the risk would be too high. It’s a risk I can’t take“, he concluded.
