"I was effectively dead on the road" - Sonny Colbrelli talks of career-ending incident and life after cycling

Sonny Colbrelli retired from pro cycling this year following health complications, and he has talked about the incident that happened and the Volta a Catalunya and how he has been moving his life forward since recently announcing his retirement.

"My heart stopped for three minutes. I was effectively dead on the road, and I am just super-lucky to still be here now," Colbrelli said in an interview with Cyclist. "Catalunya changed my life – it changed everything in my head. My approach is that this is a new life, a second chance."

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Colbrelli, at the time the reigning European Champion and Paris-Roubaix winner, collapsed after the end of the opening stage of the Volta a Catalunya after a sprint with Michael Matthews. He suffered from cardiac arrest, having had convulsions and loss of memory aswell due to the incident. His life was saved due to the extremely ready medical support he received on scene.

"It changes the way that I approach my life, because I have only one life and I focus more now on my wife and children. But my head is always back with the bike. The bike has always been the first thing in my life, and after that, family. To be successful in sport you need to have this approach, and for me to have such a supportive family made it possible," he continued.

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Shortly after Colbrelli had a subcutaneous defibrillator installed, which can help save his life in case he was to again suffer from his heart. He looked into possibilities to return to pro cycling, but it would not be possible to return to competition with the device under Italian rules. The most logical decision was to end his career, which he has done in late October.

"In my head it’s difficult at times, but my mental coach, who I started working with after Catalunya, has helped me work through the difficult moments and to change my way of thinking," the Italian shared. "It’s not easy – there are dark moments. I was almost dead and that leaves mental scars."

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He's talked a lot about the support of his family, "so now it is time to give back to them, as they gave me so much. I now get to spend time every day with my children and wife and my friends, but I can’t hide the fact I want to be with the bike still. Less than a month after the incident I got back on my bike and started to ride for two hours, three hours, just gently," he continued.

"I dream of being back with my team again. The team are so important as through all of this they have stayed with me, all of them, the staff, the manager and the riders," the Bahrain-Victorious rider revealed. "They are always there, messaging me, keeping me involved and motivated. At the Giro on the last day I saw them in Verona for the dinner and I was just crying, all that emotion and frustration. It has been difficult to watch them race, but I see this as another opportunity, maybe as a manager, a different role in the team, who knows?"

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It has been a roller-coaster year for Colbrelli in a way few can compare. He'll have a management and guiding role within Bahrain's development teams from next season onwards however, so he will continue to be present in the peloton.

"I now have time to stay with my kids, go to the gym and other new opportunities. In May I followed the Giro as a speaker after each stage, and the same with the Tour de France. For me it was about trying to be as involved as possible, so I am not just sat at home thinking about the past, where always there is the temptation to sit and eat popcorn and drink," he added.

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Regarding his family, he commented: "I think they would have preferred me to stay with cycling. Even though it meant that I was not at home as much, they know that this was my life."

"My wife was so supportive. She helped me keep my head up at a time when I could have gone crazy, every day waking up and looking at the same four walls in hospital. For sure I’m lucky. Lucky to have a second chance in life, and now we will see what that brings," he concluded.

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