The critical danger of exercise addiction has been thrown into the spotlight following the tragic death of British cyclist Mark Bentley.

Bentley, a 54-year-old business journalist based in Frankfurt, Germany, spoke to Cycling Weekly in early September and confessed that he felt addicted to riding his bike despite experiencing symptoms of heart problems. Three days later, on 10 September, he suffered a fatal cardiac arrest.
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Interviewed for a CW feature on the subject of exercise addiction, the Briton explained how he had been having chest pain while riding and that his exercise habits were getting in the way of other priorities in his life.

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Bentley - who averaged more than 2,000km of cycling per month, much of it on indoors on a turbo trainer - spoke to CW as part of the magazine’s 'Let’s Talk About' series, which focuses on rarely discussed health issues affecting cyclists.

“Both my girlfriend and my mother tell me I’m obsessed," Bentley told CW. "If I’m not riding, I’m talking about it or watching cycling. It never ends... I’m aware it’s addictive, but it’s my hobby so why not do it in my spare time? At least this addiction isn’t harmful. Cycling is healthy.”