Sonny Colbrelli is responsive in hospital and showing no sign of compromised heart function, according to the latest medical update from his Bahrain Victorious team.
The Italian required urgent medical attention when he collapsed after placing second on the opening stage of the Volta a Catalunya on Monday. He was taken to hospital in an ambulance 45 minutes after the finish of the stage and was said to be in a 'stable' condition but was due for a series of tests to understand what had happened.
On Tuesday morning, Bahrain Victorious issued a statement indicating that the first round of tests had yielded positive news. However, more tests are to follow.
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"All cardiac tests carried out last night showed no signs of concern or compromised functions," read the statement.
"He will undergo further tests today to discover the cause of yesterday’s incident."
Colbrelli was said to have been in communication with friends and family from his hospital bed. Overnight on social media, he shared several messages of support that had poured in from colleagues and fans. He also replied to a post from Michael Matthews – winner of the opening stage in Catalunya – to thank him and congratulate him.
The Italian sent a audio message to Ciro Scognamiglio of La Gazzetta dello Sport late on Monday evening.
"I don't remember anything at all. I crossed the line and then fell to the ground," Colbrelli explained.
"I took some water from my soigneur, I saw a doctor and then I blacked out. I remember waking up in the hospital. Now they’re monitoring me and checking up on me.
"It was frightening at first but I'm already thinking about when I can race again."
A medical communique apparently from the Volta a Catalunya race organisers suggested that Colbrelli had lost consciousness and suffered convulsions before suffering what was described as a cardiopulmonary arrest. It said that paramedics were able to reverse the situation with CPR and the use of a defibrillator.
However the medical communique was not published via the race's official channels and was soon deleted from social media.
The Bahrain Victorious team manager Milan Erzen had told Cyclingnews that the defibrillator was only used to monitor Colbrelli's heart.
The team's head doctor Daniele Zaccaria travelled from Italy to Spain on Monday evening and visited Colbrelli, La Gazzetta dello Sport explained.
"He was stable and conscious when he arrived at the hospital. They haven't reported what was said in the medical bulletin of the race. We’re going to carry out a full set of tests," the team doctor said.
"The initial tests of the cardiac enzymes haven’t highlighted anything in particular but I want to control everything personally."
