Cyclists hearts: can you be so fit that you die

Why have dozens of endurance athletes died in their sleep over the last few decades How can a cyclist s heart rate be slower than an elephant s Elite cyclists have such extreme physiology and such abnormal cardiovascular systems that their hearts beat less than 30 times a minute. Combined with performanceenhancing drugs that makes their blood thick and gloopy with red blood cells, this spells a recipe for disaster. The legendary Il Pirata, Marco Pantani, had to wake up in the night and cycle on a sta