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SYDNEY (AP) — Former time-trial world champion Michael Rogers has retired from competitive cycling because of a heart condition.
Rogers, a bronze medalist from the 2004 Olympics who also won three consecutive time-trial world championships from 2003, says recent cardiac tests showed a previously undetected heart arrhythmia.
The 36-year-old Australian said he was diagnosed with a congenital heart condition — a malformation of the aortic valve — in 2001 and that combined with the arrhythmia "means that my competitive career must end."
Rogers won stages in the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia. His last race was in February.
He says "While I'm disappointed to miss my 13th Tour de France and a chance to compete at my fifth Olympic Games, I'm not prepared to put my health in jeopardy."
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