If I should pass while on the bike, I have already warned my training partners. If any of them look on my body and say, "At least he died doing what he loved," I will rise from the casket and will punch them square in the face.

It's humbling to see such talented individuals passing while doing what they love, and possibly from the cost of it.

Condolences and thoughts to the family, friends, and team mates of his.

I'm sure there will be inquiries and results. And also more ongoing debate about the toll on elite athletes. Or even amateurs.

Makes you wonder what precautions you should take yourself by visiting a sports physician or having routine checkups specific to your sport. Or probing family members for history and being sure not to skip your yearly free physical and blood work.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/...-goolaerts-obituary/

Not sure why, but where I work does a pretty intensive physical when you sign on to work. It included an EKG and some kind of "blow in this" asthma test or to see if you lie about smoking or not.

Would an EKG pickup stuff like this, at rest, sitting at a doc's office? Or would it have to be a stressed test?

Hello IMStillTrying and All,

I read that there was likely an autopsy .... although we may not be privy to the results.

I have an appointment with my cardiologist next month ..... I will ask him what he thinks.

Hello nad and All,

http://www.dw.com/...t-attacks/a-43321799



Excerpts:

"The list of professional cyclists to have died of heart attacks in recent years is surprisingly long:
• In 2004, Belgian Stive Vermaut died at the age of 28 following a heart attack he suffered during a training session. In the 2000 season, he rode alongside Lance Armstrong with the US Postal team.
• Also in 2004, Belgian cross specialist Tim Pauwels died after the 23-year-old suffered cardiac arrest during a minor race in Erpe-Mere, Belgium.
• In 2005, Alessio Galletti fell off his bike in the Spanish race Subida al Naranco and did not get up. The 37-year-old Italian, who rode for the Naturino-Sapore di Mare team, had also succumbed to cardiac arrest.
• In 2009, 21-year-old Frederiek Nolf of the Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator team died in his sleep one night during the Qatar Tour. According to media reports from the time, all of the evidence pointed to the Belgian having suffered a heart attack, however his parents declined an autopsy.
• In 2010, Luxembourg's Kim Kirchen, then 39, suffered cardiac arrest, was placed into an artificial coma, however he survived the incident. The former T-mobile Team rider subsequently ended his racing career.
• In 2012, Rob Goris died of a heart attack in a hotel at the age of 30. Like Goolaerts, the Belgian competed for the Veranda-sponsored team.
• In 2016, 21-year-old Dutch rider Gijs Verdick of Cyclingteam Jo Piels suffered two heart attacks during an under-23 tour in Poland and was placed into an artificial coma. Verdick was brought from Poland to Zwolle in the Netherlands, where he passed away a day after his arrival.
• Also in 2016, the Belgian Daan Myngheer (Team Roubaix Lille Métropole) suffered a heart attack and died during the first stage of the Criterium International, a two-day race in France. He had complained of discomfort during the race and collapsed after seeking medical attention. Myngheer was just 22 years old.

The late Belgian rider Daan Myngheer
• Just over a year ago, Egyptian cyclist Eslam Nasser Zaki died during the African Continental Track Cycling Championships in South Africa. The 22-year-old fell off his bike on the track in Durban. It was later determined that he too had suffered a heart attack.
This series of heart attacks in professional cycling raises an important question: How can so many highly trained athletes die of heart attacks despite being young, healthy and under regular medical supervision? "

"Doping, or heart damage caused by endurance sports?

The first possibility that comes to mind regarding such deaths in professional cycling is doping. In the past, there has been plenty of speculation about the affects of blood doping on the heart. During the heyday of Epo doping around the turn of the millennium, cyclists spent their nights walking through hotel corridors to get their blood – thickened by the abundance of red blood cells – moving for fear of thrombosis or heart attack. Both riders and team members have confirmed this in statements. According to a study by the French magazine Nouvel Observateur, the mortality rate among Tour de France competitors is almost three times higher than that of the general population. However, to automatically conclude that heart attacks in cyclists are linked to doping would not be accurate.

This is because there are other possible and just as likely causes: Extreme endurance sports like professional cycling can change or damage the heart. In 2012, Dr. James O'Keefe published a study in the American medical journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings that showed that endurance sports often lead to a permanent overstretching of the heart muscle, and this puts an excessive strain on the heart. With just 40 marathon runners, triathletes and cyclists, involved in the study, the sample size was quite limited. However, scarring was detected in the right chamber of the hearts of five athletes."

Hello devanish_paul and All,

An interesting speculation .....



Should that be the case ..... a possible solution might be a girdle or a tight fitting reinforced cycling jersey.

The relaxation and distension of the abdomen is evident on cycling Mamils ...... I do not see it on the younger cyclists or pros .... although it may be occurring ..... but they are lean enough that it does not show.

Also .......


http://www.takethelane.me/...eurysms-and-cycling/

Excerpt:

"So, was the dissection and aneurysm related to the extra kilometres I rode back in 2001? Well, my riding partner in that "contest" didn't have the same problem. Dr. Lindsay is guarded about cause-and-effect in this case, saying research is still being done. Cyclists with long and meandering iliac arteries — called a torturous iliac — do have arterial issues, but it tends to be endoluminal fibrosis, a narrowing of the arterial walls (here's a paper on it). My torturous iliac could have led to "abnormal forces being placed on the artery that may result in the narrowing (of the artery) or the development of dissections", Dr. Lindsay wrote. "

https://forum.slowtwitch.com/...ost=4398909#p4398909

.
My N=1 hypothesis is that doped runners, swimmers and XC skiers are not dying from heart attacks. Potential doping and blood thickening in all sports is the same, so perhaps there is something to do with cycling mechanics and arterial blood flow that MAY come into play? Or is it the duration of cycling events while already having thick blood and making your blood thicker being dehydrated that you never get to in the other sports?

There’s a fairly classic but not-yet-discredited medical concept called Virchow’s triad that states that clots are caused by the triad of endothelial injury, stasis (slow flow) and hypercoagulable state. Doping certainly results in hypercoagulable state, but even in its absence endurance training and especially altitude training promote high blood counts. It’s quite plausible that positioning on the bike lends itself to turbulent flow through the iliacs and a race like Roubaix can certainly cause jarring that could result in endothelial injury. Thus, it makes some sense that a participant in a race like this could be at elevated risk for catastrophic thrombotic events. Still rare but seemingly more common than in age group peers and maybe more common than in other activities that have similar aerobic load but different body stresses.