Kirchen remains in induced coma

Kim Kirchen remains in an induced coma in a Swiss hospital, while the reason for his condition remains unclear. The latest press release from Team Katusha refers to his “heart attack”, but says that “it is possible to exclude both an infarct or thrombosis.”

According to the Luxembourger newspaper Tageblatt, the 31-year-old collapsed at 11:40 p.m Friday night in the hotel room he shared with teammate Joaquin Rodriguez. His heart is said to have stopped, and he was revived by team doctor Andrei Mikhailov and family friend Marc Joseph.

Kirchen has struggled with health problems all season, and is said to have undergone minor heart surgery this spring. According to the Luxembourger newspaper, Wort.lu, he suffered from faintness and breathing problems.

At the end of May he told Wort that while he felt fine at the moment, “The cause of my illness cannot be precisely diagnosed.” There was speculation, he said, that he was having a bad reaction to an antibiotic, or too much stress. “Nobody knows exactly and it is also possible that the problems will suddenly reappear. Especially because the situation in races can't be compared to training.”