On Monday, the Vital Concept-B & B Hotels team announced that its runner Jimmy Turgis should cease all intensive sporting activities and therefore end his career. Terrible news that comes sixteen months after the one that forced his brother Tanguy (20) to put his bike away too, due to heart disease. The two men suffer from the same symptoms: a heart syndrome which worsens with intensive effort. An evil necessarily incompatible with the practice of a high level sport.
When he learned of his brother Tanguy's illness a little over a year ago, Jimmy had carried out examinations which had not revealed any abnormality with certainty. "The markers of the disease were not proven," said the 28-year-old runner who was able to compete in the 2019 season without being tormented by these health problems. But after having recently undergone stress tests at the University Hospital of Nantes, new exams have been conducted. This time the bad news fell like a knife.
"The hardest part is to contemplate my daily life without sport"
“I still had many dreams and desires in my life as a runner, but this news fell on me and I couldn't help it. I am lucky to be well surrounded. My wife and daughter helped me build a life outside of cycling and they bring me daily comfort. The bicycle has been present in my life since I was a child and I feel a little lost ... I had plans for the future in a corner of my head but it will have to be implemented sooner than expected. The hardest part is to contemplate my daily life without sport, ”admitted the man who started his professional career in 2014.
“We're going to stick together and stay strong together. Life goes on and that's the most important thing. ”
On the side of his team, the blow of the club was violent even if the diagnosis of the disease was greeted with some relief. "This news is hard to hear but the most important thing remains to have detected this disease", tries to positivize Jérôme Pineau, the manager of the French structure. “We counted a lot on him because he is a passionate man, very well educated, full of values and who has always given himself 100% for his work. His scientific knowledge, his approach to the profession so human and his tactical expertise made it an essential cog, beyond his kindness and his quest for transmission. Here he is today deprived of his passion and that is the hardest part, ”adds the manager. “Solidarity is omnipresent within the club. We're going to stick together and stay strong together. Life goes on and this is the most important. Jimmy knows this well… ”, concludes the former puncher, professional runner between 2002 and 2015.
The third brother affected by this hereditary disease?
A graduate of a Staps License and a Master Sport Expertise Performance of High Level, Jimmy Turgis should be able to successfully retrain without too much difficulty. But the post-career subject could also concern Anthony Turgis (25), currently a rider in the Total Direct Energie team with whom he covered the Tour de France 2019 (131st) and 2018 (116th). The hereditary nature of the disease will probably push the third of the siblings to also pass in-depth examinations ...
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