Peter Sagan undergoes heart procedure after experiencing ‘tachycardic episode’

Peter Sagan has undergone a heart procedure today in hospital in Italy after suffering from a tachycardic episode during a recent mountain bike race in Spain. 

According to a report from La Gazzetta dello Sport, Sagan underwent an ablation procedure at a hospital in Ancona, Italy, today after his heart rate exceeded 200 bpm during a race near Valencia last weekend. 

Further tests were carried out on Sagan earlier this week which revealed he had experienced episodes of tachycardia during extreme exercise. An ablation, which is a procedure in which excess body tissue is removed, is expected to enable him to resume training and competition after a period of recovery. 

The Slovakian retired from the road at the end of last season and is now solely focusing on mountain bike racing as he builds towards the Paris Olympics this summer. He is expected to fully bow out from competition after the mountain bike events in Paris and completely retire from elite sport. 

Sagan had already competed in two MTB events since the turn of the year as he looks to accrue sufficient UCI points in order to help Slovakia qualify for competition in the Olympics. He competed in a race in Chelva, Spain as well as at an event in Abu Dhabi last week. 

La Gazzetta stated that due to his health issues, he will now sit out an upcoming event in Banyoles in which he was expected to race. Sagan was expected to travel to South America this April in order to compete in the first UCI World Cup events of the season in Brazil. 

According to reports he is expected to be able to resume competition at the Marseille France MTB cup later this year. Cycling Weekly reached out to Sagan’s representatives in order to enquire about his expected recovery time. 

Cycling Weekly understands that Sagan will be able to resume training in approximately one weeks time. The procedure is expected to have minimal impact on his planned competition schedule. 

Sagan was forced to sit out competition at the last Olympic Games in Tokyo due to injury. He rode the cross-country mountain bike event at the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro but a mechanical issue took him out of medal contention. 

He also competed in the recent mountain bike events at the World Championships in Scotland. Sagan finished 63rd behind the winner, Tom Pidcock, in the cross-country event, 7-14 down on the British rider and reigning Olympic champion.