Cadel Evans, the former world champion and Australia’s first Tour de France winner, pedaled inside an MRI machine in Brisbane, Australia’s Prince Charles Hospital to support cardiac research, as reported by The Australian online Nov. 11.

The 36 year-old cyclist helped researchers conduct novel research into heart and lung disease. This is the first time that MR imaging has been combined with an MRI bicycle ergometer.

Because symptoms of the diseases occur during exercise, associate professor Christian Hamilton-Craig, MD, PhD, the study’s lead author, hopes to use the MRI images of Evans’ healthy heart and lungs as a benchmark for how the organs should look during a workout.