another cyclist dead

From cyclingnews.com:

"... After his death, his hematocrit was reportedly measured at just under 40 percent (the "normal range" is considered to be between 40-52%), an indication that there was no artificial manipulation of his blood."

Did anybody see that Benfica football player who just fell over and died ? that´s two in the last six months .
It don´t just happen in cycling you know .

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by bryanquinn
I think this is old news but I just read about it. Anyone have futher info on this?



Belgian cyclist found dead

Belgian cyclist Johan Sermon has been found dead from apparent heart failure in his sleep.
The death of the 21-year-old, an under-23 rider with the Daikin team, emerged just hours after Italian cycling star Marco Pantani was also found dead.

A Belgian radio station reported that Sermon's mother found his body on Friday morning.

He had apparently gone to bed early on Thursday to prepare for an eight-hour training ride.

Police were investigating Sermon's death.

Sermon's team manager and former president of the Belgian cycling federation, Ernest De Vuyst, said the cyclist had recently undergone a complete cardiovascular check up.

But he added that the cause of death appeared to be heart failure.

"Doping appears to me to be excluded," De Vuyst was quoted as saying.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by bryanquinn
I think this is old news but I just read about it. Anyone have futher info on this?



Belgian cyclist found dead

Belgian cyclist Johan Sermon has been found dead from apparent heart failure in his sleep.
The death of the 21-year-old, an under-23 rider with the Daikin team, emerged just hours after Italian cycling star Marco Pantani was also found dead.

A Belgian radio station reported that Sermon's mother found his body on Friday morning.

He had apparently gone to bed early on Thursday to prepare for an eight-hour training ride.

Police were investigating Sermon's death.

Sermon's team manager and former president of the Belgian cycling federation, Ernest De Vuyst, said the cyclist had recently undergone a complete cardiovascular check up.

But he added that the cause of death appeared to be heart failure.

"Doping appears to me to be excluded," De Vuyst was quoted as saying.

Yes, I read about it in the papers, not a pro cyclist but an upcoming star. It all seems too unreal doesn't it? As for any reports re doping, well, personally and from past info I don't believe it. Amazing how certain autopsies/investigations don't reveal the whole truth to us all or maybve we shouldn't need to know....... It is too sad, 'El Pirate' and now Sermon found dead with no formal conclusion.

Whatever they both died from actually doesn't matter, let them rest in peace now. That is the most important thing for them and their families.

Alice

Whats scary is not knowing what happened. I was hoping that if anyone heres anything about either Pantani or the Belgian cyclist they will post it here.
BQ

Agreed, I would be a more relieved person knowing that it is drugs that is causing it as opposed to failure resulting on overuse of the heart.

I.e. is pushing yourself to the limits actually potentially lethal?

My concern also. Maybe 2lap can give us some insight at this point. re: over use of the heart?

A leading French doping expert claims sports authorities are covering up the real reasons for a recent spate of deaths which have been ascribed to heart failure, AFP reported Wednesday

Salanson died from heart failure at the age of 23

Ten athletes, including six cyclists, have died in Europe over the last six months but Jean-Paul Escande, former head of the French National Doping Commission, says he is staggered by the way their deaths have been "swept under the carpet" as fate.

"I am appalled by the explanations for these sudden deaths," Escande told Le Monde. "Why, for example, have no studies been carried out on the effects of human growth hormones on an athlete's heart? I'll tell you why. It is because we don't want to know."

Heart surgeon Alain Cohen-Solal said anabolic steroids and cortisones distort the heart and that an autopsy doesn't allow you to distinguish if ventricular hypertrophy was due to doping substances or heavy training.

The biggest sporting death involved former Tour de France and Giro d'Italia winner Marco Pantani who was found dead in a hotel room in Italy on February 14 after apparent heart failure, although investigators now believe it might have been caused by a cocaine overdose.

The spate of deaths started last June when Cameroon footballer Marc-Vivien Foe collapsed and died while playing against Turkey in the Confederations Cup in France.

Some of the more obscure names include Fabrice Salanson, a 23-year-old French professional cyclist who died in his sleep in a German hotel room. French prosecutors have opened investigations into the death.

Cycling's governing body has been forced to bring in an Australian-pioneered test to detect illicit blood transfusions this season.

The International Cycling Union's move comes in the wake of a new doping scandal in France which has already led to the arrest of several current and former members of the Cofidis team, whose Polish soigneur Bogdan Madejak is still being held by police in connection with distributing banned substances.

Thanks for your info Zaskar. Horribly eye opening. OMG, sitting here with mouth open, this is all just DREADFUL. Lost for words for once. 🙁

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by alicem
Thanks for your info Zaskar. Horribly eye opening. OMG, sitting here with mouth open, this is all just DREADFUL. Lost for words for once. 🙁

I second the motion for the update Zaskar. While these deaths are terrible it does give me some relief knowing that these were more than likely drug related. It really disturbed me to think you could actually over work your heart and have it give out for no apparent reason. What a shameful waste of tallent though.

Whether these deaths are the result of overstress through training (possible) or drug abuse (more probable), it behoves the sport to get to the bottom of what causes these fatalities.

One point, the toll of young deaths, while very much in evidence
in the last couple of months - has been going on within the sport of cycling for the past 15-20 years.

Paul Kimmage has written several articles in the Sunday Times
Newspaper highlighting these 'unexplained' deaths for a long time.
Sadly, it has taken the death of Marco to get some momentum
behind this tragic episode in our sport.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by limerickman
Whether these deaths are the result of overstress through training (possible) or drug abuse (more probable), it behoves the sport to get to the bottom of what causes these fatalities.

One point, the toll of young deaths, while very much in evidence
in the last couple of months - has been going on within the sport of cycling for the past 15-20 years.

Paul Kimmage has written several articles in the Sunday Times
Newspaper highlighting these 'unexplained' deaths for a long time.
Sadly, it has taken the death of Marco to get some momentum
behind this tragic episode in our sport.

Wouldn't there have to be an underlying problem that was not detected for there to be heart failure from overstressing it.
Just wondering what would constitute overstressing the heart?

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by bryanquinn
Wouldn't there have to be an underlying problem that was not detected for there to be heart failure from overstressing it.
Just wondering what would constitute overstressing the heart?

Bryan,
I agree - given all the medical checks cyclists get, any underlying
problem should (could) be detected.

I'm not a doctor but there might be a chance that all the training could overstress ones heart - but again, I only threw this in as a
possible reason for these deaths.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by limerickman
Bryan,
I agree - given all the medical checks cyclists get, any underlying
problem should (could) be detected.

I'm not a doctor but there might be a chance that all the training could overstress ones heart - but again, I only threw this in as a
possible reason for these deaths.

I understand.
I was wondering what your age is? what your MHR is? and what zones you work in on a weekly basis? I guess you could say that I'm at the age where i'm realizing my mortality. I believe that the more I work out the stronger my heart will get. So it's kinda scary when I hear about these trained and much younger cyclists dropping over dead. If normal proceedures for a cardiologists doesn't pick up on these things then what? You know what I mean? I know we need much deeper research into this matter and it's just a shame it had to get to a point of loosing such talented people.
I know I can't judge my work outs based on other cyclists work outs, but I'd just like to know if I'm somewhere in the ball park for someone my age.
My max being 198 at an age of 44 seems pretty high, but I have set up my zones according to this info.
I try to do 2 to 3 work outs a week in my high aerobic zone of 80 to 85 % which puts me at 156 to 166 bpms.
Then there are at least 2 days that I rest on the bike. Sometimes I don't get on it on rest days.
Then at least 2 days that I run at a heart rate of around 150 to 160 bpms for about 3 miles. I'm trying to work up to a 5 mile run at least 1 day a week.
The last time I did sprint work I didn't sleep for the whole night so I'm laying off these for a while. I'd like to build a very solid base fitness before I attempt this again. Since I don't race this is not a problem.
Oh yeah, some weeks I'll switch out a running or high aerobic workout to do intervals.
I eat well, actually I have started to eat every 2 to 3 hours in a day instead of 3 times a day. I also take supplements and drink accelerade while rideing, along with eating on the long rides.
After rides I use endurox 4.
Anyway, my goal is to grow old while staying young and fit.
Thanks for letting me bend your ear, hope I haven't bored you with all of this.
BQ

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by bryanquinn
Thanks for letting me bend your ear, hope I haven't bored you with all of this.
BQ

Not at all, I am actually fascinated by other people's work out "schedules" and their MHRs and such.

Even though I am relatively young I already worry about my heart. I try to eat as healthily as possible and work out myself on a very regular basis (although I haven't ridden for the past week and two days due to a cold 🙁 ). I also sometimes worry about my heart beating too fast (my at rest heart rate hovers at around 79 bpm, although I can sense that it is considerably lower at night and when I am not measuring it: i.e. measuring my heart rate gets me so emotionally worried that it accelerates).
I've never owned or used a heart rate monitor, so I wouldn't know what my maximum rate is. I consider myself fit, as I bike year round (outdoors in the spring/summer/fall months and in doors on a stationary exercise bike during the winter). I stay as close as possible to my one rest day/one work out day routine the whole year.
I did, however, get my heart checked out by a cardiologist before I started riding so heavily (approximately two and a half to three years ago). She saw absolutely nothing wrong with my heart, although I was so nervous that it was beating at ~107 bpm while I was at her office [call me a wussy but getting stripped, gelled up and hooked up to several wires is not a pleasant experience, especially for someone who is as prone to worrying as I am].
I really hope that my fears arent justified, however I think that sometimes while riding under a lot of stress my heart "skips a beat", I don't really know how to describe this feeling except that you feel like your heart is beating a tiny bit strangely. When this does happen I slow down and relax, giving it a chance to catch up to me. Does this ever happen to any of you? Again, there is no physical paain associated with this, it's just a strange sensation....

Great, writing this has made me even more worried 😠

Note: I just measured my heart rate and it's currently 83... way too high for someone who exercises as much as me :-(

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by RagingSpirit
Note: I just measured my heart rate and it's currently 83... way too high for someone who exercises as much as me :-(

Well I'm glad I'm not the only one out there that worries like this. 🙂 How old are you? I had my heart checked out about 4 years ago when I was 40. I too get that strange feeling in my chest. It almost feels like my heart is flipping over. It happens more when I'm not exercising though, and it used to be worse when I was drinking caffeene and eating alot of sugar. It's kind of rare that it happens now. Sometimes if I haven't had enough sleep it happens. Do you use alot of caffeene? or eat alot of sugar? Sometimes my chest will hurt after riding, but I think it's because of the posture I adopt sometimes while on the bike. Then too it might be a bit of arthritus. Not really sure, could also be muscular
A heart rate monitor is a great tool and they are pretty cheap these days. You can get a polar for under $50 in the states. I see you live in Canada so I'm not sure what you would pay for one there.
Thanks for responding. 🙂
BQ

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Lab_Rat
Agreed, I would be a more relieved person knowing that it is drugs that is causing it as opposed to failure resulting on overuse of the heart.

I.e. is pushing yourself to the limits actually potentially lethal?

So lets see these are probably guys that pushed their hearts to the maximum on a very regular basis and then died of heart failure in their sleep, when their heart rates were probably close to their minumum?
I would have thought that an overstressed heart failure would occur when you close to your max not close to your min!

I think this has everything to do with drugs and nothing to do with exercised induced damage.

Leon

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Leon
So lets see these are probably guys that pushed their hearts to the maximum on a very regular basis and then died of heart failure in their sleep, when their heart rates were probably close to their minumum?
I would have thought that an overstressed heart failure would occur when you close to your max not close to your min!

I think this has everything to do with drugs and nothing to do with exercised induced damage.

Leon

Quoted post said:

I would have thought that an overstressed heart failure would occur when you close to your
max not close to your min!

I would think the opposite would be more likely. after 4 days of rest off the bike my hrt is 44, some elite athletes are in the 30's can you imagine how slow it may get when you sleep? 1 beat every few secounds maybe? seems like the heart would might want to stop at this time if there is a problem, can happin either way ofcourse.