New worries for former world champion: "They are currently evaluating whether to put in a defibrillator"

Anyone who mentions the name Mario Cipollini inextricably says one of the very best sprinters in the history of cycling. The Italian won classics, as many as 42 Giro stages, and also became world champion in 2002 in Zolder, Belgium. After his career as a professional cyclist, however, the news surrounding "Super Mario" has been a lot less positive, and once again he has news to deliver.

Cipollini was in the news more often after his career, and it was by no means always positive. In 2022, for example, he was sentenced to three years in prison. The Italian allegedly abused and threatened his ex-wife. This year another prison sentence was demanded against him: Cipollini was suspected of defaming Ivano Fanini, president of Amore e Vita, one of the teams where the sprinter was under contract.

After his career, his health also played a role, as the former rider had experienced problems with his heart before. Those problems have now flared up again. The former world champion announced on his Instagram that the problems returned, explaining in a video what is going on.

"My heart has problems again, the doctors will see what they can do," the now 58-year-old Cipollini announced. "They are currently evaluating whether it is necessary to put in a defibrillator." In the video, we see the Italian sitting calmly on a hospital bed explaining what is going on.

A day later, another video follows, this time with him lying in the hospital bed and with cables on his bod. "I thank you wholeheartedly (even though ill) for your closeness and affection. I make this video a bit like this, to answer all the messages (I wouldn't be able to respond to everyone) tomorrow with more clarity I tell what happened today! Thanks," the former top sprinter announced.