If this misunderstood phenomena cited in the article has been observed and studied - the quick answer to your question is: Yes, it is possible. In fact anything is possible.
The brevity of that article leaves me with more questions than answers, though. How long does the intensity have to endure? At what point does the fainting occur - immediately or some seconds or minutes later? Does it always happen? What other health factors about the athlete/participant played a part? What is the health history of the athlete/participant? Are the results typical for all activities or only some? What were the body fat percentages/BMI? Sadly, there is not much here to discuss in depth without further research.
Personally I have never experienced the phenomena, therefore I can bring nothing to the discussion in that realm (thus, my personal interest in investing time to seek this deeper is rather limited). I tend to pedal downhill as well as up. I've climbed mountains, ridden long distances, and hiked significant ascents, etc... I RARELY ever do these things alone - the people I'm with have also never complained about these symptoms.
The comment at the bottom of the article suggests this phenomena occurs when activity is halted "cold turkey." Cycling is rarely done like that. Perhaps researching if this problem occurs in mountian top fininshes in bicycle racing will shed some new light on the topic. When I get home I'll post the question on a racing forum I belong to, I'll get back to you.
