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"As soon as I had my episode last weekend I told the team and that this was it for me and cycling. Instead of just pretending that I was just being cautious or something, I would prefer to do it this way." Walker talks about the d...

WILLIAM WALKER

RIDER PROFILE
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NEWS
16.01.2014 @ 10:32 Posted by Matt Shu

Will Walker(Synergy Baku) suffered serious heart problem during Australian road race championships, and has to be hospitalized after the race. And now Walker decides to retire, according to cyclingtips.com.au.

 

Walker was in the day's breakaway in the Australian road race championships on Sunday, but he has to quit the race due to excessively rapid heartbeat. "I was at 270 beats for an hour with almost no cardiac output. I had to have a cardio inverter to reset my rhythm after amiodarone did not prove successful." Walker said. Although Walker was always conscious, he was still pretty shaken by the indicent.

 

"I wasn’t even going that hard up at the top of the hill – I would have been back to about 140bpm. I was just cruising up the hill and then the next moment I was doing 270bpm for an hour. When it goes for an hour … I’ve never had that before. I’ve never had longer than 30 seconds. It’s the scariest thing I could go through. It felt like I was going to die." says Walker.

 

This is the second time that Walker encounters a heart problem. The Australian was forced to temporately leave the sport in 2009 due to heart rhythm problems. Now similar situation arose, Will Walker is weighing up his future role in the road cycling, which might means he has to retire to be as safe as possible.

 

Walker won Australian Road Race championships in 2006 as a under-23 rider, a pretty unique fact, partly thanks to organizers combined the u23 race and elite race in that year. However, heart problems prevent him to really shine in the road cycling scene.

 

Now considering his situation, Walker decides to say goodbye completely to the sport, "I already knew I was retiring the second I knew I was going to live through this. It was the worst feeling ever. Numb arms, numb legs — I couldn’t even answer questions about myself."

 

When the issue might decide that one is alive or not, maybe road cycling isn't really that important. "There are always new things on the horizon and I’m really just glad to have my life. It’s not even a relevant thing in everyday life. It’s only when I become this stubborn cyclist who wants to beat everyone – that’s the only time it comes out. I’ll keep riding, but I’m not going to tempt myself because my brain wants to push and push."

 

“It’s good to be alive.” says Walker.

 

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