{"id":384395,"date":"2026-01-22T15:28:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T15:28:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/384395\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T15:28:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T15:28:13","slug":"sam-bennett-undergoes-heart-surgery-after-health-scare-i-had-palpitations-i-didnt-know-what-was-going-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/384395\/","title":{"rendered":"Sam Bennett undergoes heart surgery after health scare: \u201cI had palpitations, I didn\u2019t know what was going on\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former Tour de France green jersey Sam Bennett has spoken at length to road.cc about a heart procedure he underwent in November, with the Irish sprinter opening up about the subject today.<\/p>\n

The 35-year-old won two stages plus the maillot vert at the 2020 Tour and then took two stages at the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a two years later. However, he was forced to withdraw from that race with Covid-19 and hasn\u2019t been able to return to that level.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not certain, but it appears possible that heart symptoms which became fully apparent in November may have been hampering him for some time before that.<\/p>\n

\"SamSam Bennett, 2023 Glasgow worlds (credit: Alex Broadway\/SWpix.com)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe atrial fibrillation came on around the 13th, 14th of November, but I think it was underlying for quite a long time,\u201d Bennett tells road.cc in what was a very frank 30-minute interview. \u201cI was actually at Rouleur Live with my previous team, and I went back to the hotel room that night. I went to sleep and had some light flutters, and then some palpitations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know what was going on. Then I remembered that I was wearing a Whoop and was able to check ECG, and it showed me that I had AFib, atrial fibrillation. I rang the team and they were absolutely amazing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey got me straight into specialists in London the next morning. I spoke to three different specialists. We decided to go with one in Frankfurt, Germany, then four days or five days later, I had the ablation, which was a success.\u201d<\/p>\n

Atrial fibrillation is an issue where the heartbeat becomes irregular and often faster than normal. It is related to the electrical signals in the heart, and is treated by a procedure called ablation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s quite straightforward,\u201d Bennett explains. \u201cThey go in from the vein of the leg, close to the pelvis. They go in and they burn off the incorrect parts of the heart. Then what they do is they speed up the heart, I think using adrenaline, and they see if there are any other paths that can cause an irregular heartbeat.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve heard of some people getting it done while they\u2019re awake. I was asleep, so it was super easy. And when you\u2019re stuck in AFib for a few days and you come out on the other side, it was so smooth and so calm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SamSam Bennett, 2019 Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a (credit: PhotoGomezSport)<\/p>\n

Bennett had to go on blood thinners for a period following the operation and, due to the risk of excessive bleeding had he crashed, he was unable to train on the road. His procedure was a little more complicated than some ablations due to the location within the heart that had to be corrected, meaning it would take three months for his heart to completely heal.<\/p>\n

As a result he and his new Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team decided to take things slowly. While he did return to the bike at the end of November, he caught flu after New Year\u2019s Day and that further delayed things.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cThey say when you have the flu, it\u2019s not great for the heart. So I was really cautious then,\u201d he says. \u201cI really backed off.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cThen I went to the training camp, and I was at zero. Like, really zero. But actually, we had a great week. The progression was really quick, so I was super happy with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bennett reckons his return to proper training was only around January 10th\u00a0or 11th. Barring any other delays, he hopes to return to racing in the middle to end of March. But, given his journey in recent years, getting going a few weeks later than usual is not a concern.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt didn\u2019t feel right the last few years\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2020 and early 2021 Bennett was the undisputed top sprinter in the sport. He won two stages plus the green jersey in the Tour de France and then dominated the fast finishes the following spring. He suffered a knee injury while training and missed the 2021 Tour plus much of the rest of the season as a result, but appeared close to his best again when beating Mads Pedersen to win stages one and two in the 2022 Vuelta.<\/p>\n

However, Bennett caught Covid-19 and had to withdraw from the race. He hasn\u2019t won a WorldTour event since.<\/p>\n

\"SamSam Bennett wins the green jersey, 2020 Tour de France (credit: ASO\/Pauline Ballet)<\/p>\n

Given what he has been diagnosed with, and the link between Covid and heart issues, does he think the two are related?<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cI don\u2019t want to be the conspiracy theorist,\u201d he laughs, \u201cBut it was from 2022 onwards that there was something going on.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know how or what, if it was this or something else, but there was something. As a cyclist, you\u2019re hyper aware of your body, like, maybe too much. It didn\u2019t feel right the last few years. The timeline matches, but I can\u2019t say whether it is or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

He is clear though that something was affecting him in sprints.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t be guaranteed that this has been the reason. If it is, it would explain a lot, because in training, I\u2019ve been hitting some of my best numbers, in terms of general fitness and peak power and everything. But I couldn\u2019t replicate the power in races. I could do it to a certain point, and then the body would just hit a limit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI discussed it with the heart specialist, giving him feedback of what I felt in the last two, three seasons. It\u2019s not a given, but it\u2019s possible that I was having mini episodes going into sprints. Because I always felt something. I couldn\u2019t push, I would go into the sprint, and I\u2019d be fine, and I\u2019d go to get off the saddle. I wouldn\u2019t be full of lactate, but I just had to sit back down. And it was just super strange.<\/p>\n

\"SamSam Bennett TdF stage win 2020 – 1 (credit: SWpix.com)<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if it is the same for everybody, but the specialist said that with the way I went into AFib, my top two chambers were beating twice as fast as the lower two chambers. He said it is possible that in the sprints, the top two start going to AFib and then you lose 30 per cent of the pumping power. You do lose that performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to put everything on this idea. It is a possibility, but it might not be the case. So I\u2019m conservative with that part. But if it was, if the future shows that it was a problem, I\u2019d be super happy to know the reason.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did feel flutters or palpitations in the sprints, but I just thought, \u2018oh, good coffee\u2019,\u201d he laughs.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou do have fear of the unknown\u201d<\/p>\n

Bennett\u2019s case is far from the first example of heart arrythmia in sports. Multiple studies have shown that endurance exercise can increase your chances of developing the condition. Chlo\u00e9 Dygert, Robert Gesink, Nick Nuyens and Zden\u011bk \u0160tybar are just a few of those who underwent surgery; each were able to return to the sport.<\/p>\n

Bennett said he is aware of many other riders who were similarly affected, although understandably he didn\u2019t want to name them due to their medical privacy.<\/p>\n

\"SamSam Bennett, 2022 Vuelta (credit: PhotoGomezSport)<\/p>\n

Bennett\u2019s AFib was most pronounced that night in London in November but, in retrospect, he said he wasn\u2019t feeling well in the days beforehand and did have flutters in training. He was undoubtedly frightened at the time but is keen to underline the condition is not unknown, and it is correctable.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou do have the fear of the unknown in the moment,\u201d he says. \u201cYou have these sensations and you\u2019re not quite sure what\u2019s happening. But this is the main reason why I want to share the stories, because you do hear that this is quite common.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people are having AFib and then ablations. There is a fear of the unknown when it happens, but for younger cyclists or people in the general public, I wanted to share this so that they understand it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t have to be afraid. Once you go after it and treat it, you can recover fully and get back to top level again as an athlete. And for a normal person, you can have a long normal life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SamSam Bennett wins in Paris, 2020 Tour de France (credit: ASO\/Alex Broadway)<\/p>\n

It goes without saying that any heart issues should be fully investigated to discover the cause, rule out danger, and to determine the right form of treatment.<\/p>\n

Bennett believes that modern technology can help get a head start on determining what exactly is going on.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I was going to share one message, it is that if people can afford it, having a smartwatch that has ECG means they can catch it in the moment. A lot of the time they might feel something, but they are not sure what it is. They go to a specialist, they describe it, and they don\u2019t know what\u2019s happening.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the smart watches, the ECGs might not be the most accurate, but they\u2019re enough for a specialist to see what\u2019s happening and to really go from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI still get that pain in my gut when I lose a race\u201d<\/p>\n

Bennett is now getting ready for the new season, his first with Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling. It\u2019s a fresh start after two years with Decathlon Ag2r La Mondiale. He took several wins there but was never quite at his best. He says he did feel himself at the Four Days of Dunkirk in 2024, where he won four stages plus the overall, but otherwise didn\u2019t quite click.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s not 100 percent certain the AFib was what was holding him back in the years since his last WorldTour win at the 2022 Vuelta, preferring to wait and see how he performs before getting his hopes up. But it\u2019s certain that something wasn\u2019t quite right. If his heart was indeed the issue, there is every chance he could have his best season in years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only way to look at it is, I\u2019m still hitting the numbers in training,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m here in the new team, new opportunity, and they\u2019re doing amazing work. I have to say what they\u2019re doing is quite impressive.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was difficult in December, watching all these guys doing all these tests and progressing. I wanted to be there with them and to test myself and to see what I can become, but there\u2019s still time. I think if I get healthy now, and I have an amazing team with amazing support, I have everything in place. If I can\u2019t do it here, I can\u2019t do it anywhere. So I\u2019m quite confident that I\u2019m in the best place to come back, to reach the best level possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SamSam Bennett (credit: Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team)<\/p>\n

What helps Bennett is the presence of head coach Kurt Bogaerts. The two worked closely together before as part of the An Post Sean Kelly team, with Bogaerts helping Bennett get out of a post-injury slump in 2013. He almost walked away from the sport but with encouragement and guidance from Bogaerts and Sean Kelly, Bennett won a stage of the Tour of Britain and secured his first pro contract.<\/p>\n

Bogaerts knows what it takes to get the best out of him, and Bennett is hungry to deliver.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want to hit my best level again,\u201d he says. \u201cI still get that pain in my gut when I lose a race. It f**king kills me. What\u2019s frustrating is when you\u2019re watching guys in front of you and you\u2019re like, \u2018I know I can beat these guys.\u2019 But I can\u2019t extract the performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m looking down, and I can see my Watts are low. I can see I\u2019m there with them. I\u2019m there, and I just can\u2019t hit what I know I can hit. And that kills me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Suffering defeat after defeat\u00a0has been a very difficult experience for a rider with over 70 wins, but he\u2019s kept plugging away.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cI think what keeps me going is when I get the glimpses of form and I see the numbers are right. I suppose I\u2019m a bit resilient as well. Or else I\u2019m just stubborn,\u201d he laughs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want to be in the races competing. I don\u2019t want to be making up numbers, getting killed in every race. I want to be at my best level. And then if I reach that, then of course if I hit certain targets, that I get my opportunity in Grand Tours, or whatever it may be.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I\u2019m not at the level, I don\u2019t want to waste anyone\u2019s time. I want to be realistic. I don\u2019t want to take places from other riders who deserve it more than me. I don\u2019t want any gifts, It\u2019s more black and white.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cI am pretty positive I\u2019ll hit the level, and I\u2019ll be able to show my true colours and race at the top level again.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former Tour de France green jersey Sam Bennett has spoken at length to road.cc about a heart procedure…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":384396,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-384395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-cycling","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=384395"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384395\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/384396"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=384395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=384395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=384395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}