August 21/25 12:43 pm - Pier-Andre Cote Overcomes Health Scare to Start Vuelta

Posted by Editor on 08/21/25
 

Sportcom provided the following interview with Pier-Andre Cote (Israel - Premier Tech):

About ten days ago, cyclist Pier-André Côté was isolated in a hospital room. During the night, the athlete, who had contracted COVID-19, developed severe abdominal pain that led him to the hospital. It was a tough situation for the heart, which, fortunately, is now only figuratively and no longer literally.

"It's the worst pain I've felt in my life! [...] Let's just say the last week has been full of emotions and twists and turns! I feel like I'm a bit last-minute, but I have two days to get back on track," the athlete admitted in an interview with Sportcom Wednesday evening.

Doctors initially suspected pericarditis, an inflammation of the pericardium, the membrane that surrounds the heart. The cyclist underwent electrocardiogram (ECG) tests, which revealed irregularities, blood tests, and X-rays.

"For a good three hours at the hospital, I didn't hear anything, and I was beginning to wonder if they would discover some kind of malformation and that would be the end of my career. Those hours spent alone in my hospital room, isolated with COVID, were long," adds Côté, knowing that many cyclists have had to retire prematurely due to heart problems or malformations, including former Paris-Roubaix winner Sonny Colbrelli.

The athlete was then sent home with a diagnosis of pericarditis. Doctors from his Israel - Premier Tech team, including a cardiologist, then subjected the athlete to further tests and compared them with those performed at the start of the season. Ultimately, in the eyes of the hospital doctors, Côté's results were abnormal for a sedentary person. However, Côté is a high-level athlete, and the result of his recent ECG was similar to the one performed on him by his team last December.

No other symptoms appeared after the incident, and if he had indeed suffered from pericarditis, Côté would have been in pain for several days.

"The (team) cardiologist assured me 100% that there was no cardiac involvement. There's still a question mark over where the pain was coming from. Perhaps it was a blocked nerve in a vertebra that caused muscle spasms in the diaphragm because I was out of breath."

He was therefore given the green light to get back on the bike and was even able to push the machine. "All the boxes were checked, and we decided there would be no reason why I wouldn't do the Vuelta."

The athlete still wanted to have a long discussion with the cardiologist about his training, as well as with his parents, who are nurses, to be sure he wasn't putting his health at risk.

"I was honest with the team: 'It's your decision, I'm in good shape, I really, really want to be at the starting line, but not at any cost.' If our team of specialists tells us there's a 1% chance of a recurrence or anything that could happen, both in the short and long term for my career, I won't do it. And everyone agreed."

Two years ago almost to the day, Sportcom recounted Côté's roller-coaster 2023 season, punctuated by victories, but also illnesses, and, above all, finding himself without a contract after his team at the time folded. Two years later, he's approaching the 80th edition of the Vuelta a España with a light heart.

"Yes, it's a terribly demanding sport, but I love what I'm doing right now. I see myself doing it for a long time, and I don't feel like I've been a pro for 10 years. I've only just started in the big leagues: this is my first Grand Tour, I did my first Monument in Milan-San Remo. I still have a lot of incredible firsts to achieve."

All good reasons to put his career as an actuary on hold.

"For now, I hope I won't need my degree for a little while longer."