Italian Sonny Colbrelli, reigning European champion, had a heart attack after the arrival of the first stage of the Tour of Catalonia on Monday in Sant Feliu de Guixols, reports Spanish television RTVE. The medical services performed a heart massage on the last winner of Paris-Roubaix who would have regained consciousness before being directed to a hospital, according to several Spanish media.
Discomfort on the line
The Italian was overtaken by Australian Michael Matthews at the finish of this stage ending in an uphill sprint. The Tour of Catalonia was the recovery race for Colbrelli who, ill, had abandoned Paris-Nice on March 7, on the morning of the second stage. He then gave up Milan-Sanremo, the first major classic of the season that his Slovenian teammate Matej Mohoric won on Saturday.
Aged 31 and a professional since 2011, Colbrelli has moved up a gear last year. He accumulated successes from the Dauphiné in June, notably by winning the Italian championship then the European championship. In October, the Italian finally claimed the most important of his 34 victories in a fall edition of Paris-Roubaix marred by bad weather.