Peter Sagan undergoes heart procedure

Peter Sagan is to undergo a heart operation on Friday after abnormalities were discovered during recent mountain bike race in which his heart rate exceeded 200 beats per minute.

The three-time road race world champion, who switched to MTB in 2024, is in Italy to undergo an ablation procedure, which is designed to correct arrhythmias in the heart.

Sagan’s representatives describe the procedure as ‘routine’ and predict he’ll be back racing within a month.

“He had the arrhythmia during the race and we just want to control it,” a spokesperson for Sagan told GCN.

“Right now they are doing the procedure and they’ll check what the situation is. If it’s nothing serious, like we think, then he’ll have a monitor fitted.”

Doctors diagnosed Sagan with ‘anomalous tachycardia with a high ventricular response’, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, where the news was first reported. He noticed the usually high heart rate values and his coach, Patxi Vila, pushed to investigate.

Sagan then travelled to Italy to undergo a range of tests on Tuesday and Wednesday under the supervision of cardiologist Dr. Roberto Corsetti, whom he knew from his early days as a pro. The tests, which included strenuous physical efforts, reportedly showed the sudden onset of the arrhythmia at high levels of intensity.

It was then decided to operate, with the procedure taking place on Friday at the Lancisi university hospital in Ancona.

“This is a common thing for a lot of riders,” said Sagan’s spokesperson, referring to Sagan’s former teammate Elia Viviani, who had the same in 2021 and has made a full return to competition.

“We’ve discussed the situation with the team, with Specialized and we just decided to control the situation immediately so that we can be sure there’s nothing serious. It’s a routine thing to make sure there’s no stress or worries.

“He will stay off the bike for between five to eight days and that’s just to recover from the little surgery. So our plan is to race in Marseille in 20 days.”