Cycling star Sam Bennett reveals he is recovering from heart operation

Bennett first noticed the heart issue in November, though he suspects it had been underlying for some time. 

Sam Bennett of Ireland and then Team Bora - Hansgrohe celebrates winning during the 77th Tour of Spain 2022, (Photo by Bas Czerwinski/Getty Images)

Cyclist Sam Bennett has revealed he has undergone surgery to address a heart condition and has relocated to Cork as he continues his recovery.

The Tipperary rider, who won the green jersey at the 2020 Tour de France, where he took two stage wins, told RTÉ he had been suffering from heart flutters and palpitations which were affecting his performances.

Having signed for the Q36.5 team last October, Bennett first noticed the issue in November, though he suspects it had been underlying for some time. 

"It was kind of strange because at the end of the season, I wasn't feeling well," the 35-year-old told  RTÉ Radio 1's Inside Sport.

"I couldn't get out the performances and couldn't understand it. I had the off season, came back and then I was having these flutters, palpitations in training.

"I was away with my previous team in London, and in the nights I had flutters and palpitations, I didn't know what was going on."

He added: "It's not a given, but it's possible that I was having many episodes going into sprints because I always felt something in the sprints and I couldn't push.

"I would go into a sprint and then I'd be fine and I'd go to get off the saddle and I wouldn't be full of lactate, but I'd have to sit back down and it was just super strange."

This time, a smart watch alerted him to an issue.

"I remember that I was wearing a Whoop and I was able to check my ECG (electrocardiogram) and it showed me that I had AFib, atrial fibrillation.

"Four days or five days later, I had the ablation (a surgery to treat irregular heartbeats), which was a success."

Bennett is now recovering, having moved back to Cork with his family, and is targetting a return to competition in March.

"I have an amazing team with amazing support and everything in place. If I can't do it here, I can't do it anywhere.

"The team want to see how I progress. If I progress quicker, brilliant. If slower, then it's whatever time I need. I want to make the target of middle to end of March, just so that I'm not too relaxed and I have something to chase. If you have too much time, you'll never get on it.

"I moved back home to Ireland, now based in Cork. My idea was, well, first of all, I think my family outgrew apartment living and I wanted to give my son a garden and start school in our own culture. I think that was important, but on the sporting side, I just thought I can't continue doing the same thing, expecting a different result. So I said, 'let's move home'."

In a wide-ranging interview, Bennett was keen to highlight that his condition is quite common and one where complete recovery is likely if treatment is sought. 

"A lot of people are having AFib and ablations and for younger cyclists or people in general public... there's a fear of the unknown when it happens, but I wanted to share it just so that they can understand it.

"They might understand what's happening with their body and they don't have to be afraid. Once you go after it and treat it, you can recover fully and get back to like, as an athlete, to a top level again. And for a normal person, you can have a long, normal life.

"If people can afford it, if they can have a smartwatch, like a Garmin or some other device that has ECG, they can catch it in the moment because a lot of the time they might feel something, they're not sure and then they go to a specialist and they kind of describe it and they don't know what's happening.

"ECGs mightn't be the most accurate thing, but they're enough for a specialist to see it and to see what's happening and to really go from there.

"It's quite a common thing but it can really be treated."