Heart Condition Forces Second of Three French Pro Cycling Brothers to Retire
Jimmy Turgis, a French pro cyclist with team B&B Hotels-Vital Concept, has been forced to retire after being diagnosed with a heart condition at 28 years old.
Turgis’s brother, Tanguy, retired from pro cycling 16 months earlier due to the same heart condition.
The third brother, 25-year-old Anthony Turgis, is also a pro cyclist and still rides for team Total Direct Énergie.
French pro cyclist Jimmy Turgis, 28, with team B&B Hotels-Vital Concept announced his retirement due to a heart condition on Monday, just 16 months after his brother Tanguy was forced to end his pro cycling career for the same reason.
“I have a heart condition which gets worse with intense physical effort so it’s impossible for me to carry on at the top level,” Turgis said.
Jimmy underwent testing after Tanguy was diagnosed which did not reveal any signs of the condition, and he was cleared to compete for the 2019 season. Additional tests carried out recently, however, showed otherwise.
“At the end of 2019 some tests revealed a heart rhythm disorder. After more extensive tests, the results left no room for doubt,” Turgis added in a statement issued by the B&B Hotels team. “I have to stop racing. This retirement comes earlier than expected but my team and myself won’t take any risk. I’m surrounded and supported by a strong family who went through the same event when Tanguy had to end his career.”
Turgis, who specialized in cyclocross and the northern classics, began his pro cycling career in 2014.
The same heart condition led to younger brother Tanguy’s retirement at only 19 years old, after becoming the first teenager in over 50 years to finish the Paris-Roubaix cycling classic in 2018.
Tanguy, 21, now works as a sports director for B&B Hotels-Vital Concept’s development team, VCP Loudéac.
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“The bicycle has been present in my life since I was a child and I feel a little lost,” Turgis said in the statement. “The hardest part is imagining my everyday life without sport.”
His team voiced its support for Turgis during this difficult time, stating that it would help him as it did with his brother Tanguy.
The third brother, 25-year-old Anthony Turgis, rides for the pro continental team Total Direct Énergie and completed the Tour de France in both 2018 and 2019.
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