News Round-up: Wesley Kreder's career in doubt after heart attack

Cofidis reveal Kreder suffered recent heart attack

Wesley Kreder suffered a heart attack two weeks ago, his Cofidis team have revealed. The Dutch pro will not race again this season, and it’s unclear if he will ever race again.

The heart attack occurred on the night of 28-29 August, with Kreder attended to by his wife and family before being rushed to hospital. He stayed there for more than a week and was diagnosed with myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscles, before returning home last Wednesday.

"I went to bed as normal on 28 August and the next day I woke up in hospital. It was really strange to find myself there, wondering what had happened and why it had come to this,” Kreder said in a statement from his team released on Wednesday. “I stayed in hospital for several days, undergoing a series of tests and recovering well before going home. Now I feel fine, it's hard to believe that I had a heart attack a fortnight ago. I've started walking outside, I'm still resting and looking after my two children.”

Cofidis have confirmed that Kreder, 32, will not compete again this season, and it remains to be seen if that’s the end of his career.

“The doctors haven't said that I can't ride a bike again, and I hope to be able to do so in one or two weeks' time. However, it's too early to talk about the future,” Kreder said. “Right now it's not time to look ahead, but to recover and enjoy life. I'm so happy to be alive!”

Vuelta a España stage 17: Drama on the Angliru

© Velo Collection (TDW) / Getty Images

Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard cross the line on stage 17 of the Vuelta a España

Wednesday saw one of the most hotly-anticipated stages of the Vuelta a España, and Jumbo-Visma delivered another storming display to go 1-2-3 atop the Alto de l’Angliru, although question marks over tactics resurfaced.

Primož Roglič took the stage win, crossing the line with Jonas Vingegaard as the pair dropped their teammate, and the race leader, Sepp Kuss, on the upper reaches of the brutal ascent.

Kuss trailed home for third place, limiting the damage to retain the red jersey, his lead over Vingegaard cut to eight seconds.

• Read our full race report and results

Lach and Serrano victorious at GP de Wallonnie

© Velo Collection (TDW) / Getty Images

Gonzalo Serrano wins the GP de Wallonnie

The Grand Prix de Wallonnie took place on Wednesday, with Marta Lach (Ceratizit-WNT) winning the women’s race before Gonzalo Serrano (Movistar) took out the men’s.

Both races featured punchy terrain in southern Belgium, centring on the climb to the Citadel of Namur - 2.2km at 5% - with the finish line positioned a few hundred metres beyond its summit.

In the women’s race, around a dozen riders came over the top in contention, and Lach had the strongest legs on the final push to the line to continue her rich vein of form after winning the GP de Fourmies earlier in the week. Silvia Persico (UAE Team ADQ) finished second as Victoire Berteau (Cofidis) rounded out the podium.

In the men’s race, Serrano got the better of some esteemed company, going clear with Dylan Teuns (Israel-Premier Tech) over the Citadel climb and holding him off in the two-up sprint. A few seconds later, Jasper De Buyst (Lotto-Dstny) crossed the line in third place, ahead of world champion Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck).

Cavagna's long-range solo as Tour of Slovakia explodes on opening day

© Sprint Cycling Agency

Remi Cavagna takes the opening stage of the Giro della Toscana

The Tour of Slovakia started with a bang, as the script was ripped up and Remi Cavagna (Soudal Quick-Step) soloed to victory from more than 50km out.

Cavagna’s team had thought about controlling the opening stage for a sprint finish with Tim Merlier, but the race exploded early, and never reformed. Cavagna was part of a strong early 14-man breakaway, alongside teammate Kasper Asgreen and the likes of Stefan Kung (Groupama-FDJ) and Koen Bouwman (Jumbo-Visma).

After opening a big lead over the bunch, Cavagna went on the offensive, while Asgreen proved a nuisance behind to allow his teammate to sail away to victory.

Cavagna crossed the line 1:45 ahead of second-placed Mulu Kinfe Hailemichael (Caja Rural), who attacked in the finale. Asgreen then won the sprint for third place ahead of Milan Vader (Jumbo-Visma) and Kung.

“Our goal was to go for the stage win with Tim Merlier but we also knew that it would be difficult with all those climbs in the opening phase of the stage,” said Cavagna. “It was there that an escape formed. We were in the lead with a strong group, but at a certain point the collaboration stopped. Then I decided to attack 50 kilometers from the finish. I knew Kasper was in the group behind me and that my teammates in the peloton would also protect my attack, so it was a great team effort.”

Sivakov takes out Giro della Toscana as Pogačar searches for form

© Sprint Cycling Agency

Pavel Sivakov wins the Giro della Toscana

There was no shortage of racing on Wednesday, and some of the best came as the Italian autumn Classics kicked off with the Giro della Toscana.

This was the return of Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) as he builds up to Il Lombardia, but it’s clear he’s not yet at his best as he was roundly dropped by Pavel Sivakov (Ineos Grenadiers) on the second of two ascents of Monte Serra. Sivakov went solo over the top but was joined on the descent by Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), who he then put to the sword in style in the final couple of kilometres.

Carapaz was easing off the pedals through a roundabout with 1.4km to go when Sivakov took him by surprise and attacked over a motorway bridge, leaving him stranded as he soloed home for his first win of the year.

Felix Großschartner (UAE Team Emirates) rolled in for third place, having caught Pogačar on the descent and then been released by the two-time Tour de France champion on the run-in. Pogačar himself mopped up for fourth place ahead of Filippo Zana (Jayco-AlUla) and, making it three UAE riders in the top six, Davide Formolo.

• Read our full race report and results