Cyclist, 38, died of a rare heart condition

Richard Mark Wiggin, who was a member of Newport Cycling Club and rode 240-320 miles every week, was a victim of "sports-related sudden cardiac death".

Pathologist Dr Nicholas Green told yesterday's Telford hearing that it was not known whether deaths in the category were genetic, connected with the physical exertions of sport or related to some other factor, such as a previous viral infection.

The court was told that Mr Wiggin's sister Sarah, from Bath, had since been checked over at University Hospital in Bristol in case she was prone to the same condition and the whole family was also seeking advice.

Telford & Wrekin Coroner Mr Michael Gwynne said: "If anything good is to come out of this we must make sure no-one in the extended famly has this sort of cardiac problem."

Mr Wiggin, of Beech Close, Newport, was found lying on a grass verge at Edgmond, still sitting in the saddle and with his feet strapped onto the pedals, on January 24.

A motorist who found him was eventually joined by two passers-by in battling to try to revive him, before paramedics arrive and he was airlifted to the University Hospital of North Staffordshire where medical staff tried for a further 50 minutes to save his life.

Mr Wiggin, a single man who held a doctorate and worked as a computer programmer for Greenhouse Shrewsbury, was pronounced dead at the hospital.

The court heard that Mr Wiggin had suffered one dizzy spell a few months before his death but had otherwise been in good health.

Dr Green said Mr Wiggin's heart was enlarged, and had been examined by the country's leading cardiac pathologist, Dr Mary Sheppard, at the Royal Brompton Hospital, in London, who concluded the heart gave the appearance of sports-related sudden cardiac death.

Mr Gwynne recorded a verdict of death by natural causes.

By Simon Hardy