Triple road race world champion Peter Sagan requires heart surgery which could endanger his bid to qualify for the Paris Olympics mountain bike race in summer.
Sagan, 34, reportedly underwent a first operation recently but that was never confirmed.
He has now said on Instagram that “while I was training on the rocky trails in Marseille, my heart hit a few bumps.
“Nothing to worry about, you could say that my heart needs a pit stop. I will undergo surgery next week and thanks to my friend, sports cardiologist Dr Roberto Corsetti, I am sure I will be back in the saddle very soon,” he said.
Sagan ended his road race career last year, winning three straight world titles 2015-2017, 12 Tour de France stages and also stages at the other two grand tours, the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a Espana.
He has competed in mountain bike before, including at the 2016 Olympics.
