Raña Set To Return To Triathlon

Spain’s Iván Raña is giving up on his one-year experiment trying to race in the professional cycling ranks to return full time to triathlon.

The 30-year-old found pro cycling to be a bumpy road during his year with Xacobeo-Galicia. Raña crashed in his road debut and broke his collarbone during the Mallorca Challenge back in February.

The former Olympic triathlete said he wants to return to the relative comfort of triathlon instead of taking more risks on the road.

“I was suffering and having a ball all at the same time,” Raña told the Spanish wire service EFE. “The current situation is very difficult now in cycling and I prefer to make a bet on something more sure. I will return to triathlon with the intention of regaining my former level.”

Raña, twice fifth in the Olympic Games, said his primary goal will be preparing for the 2012 Games in London.

Raña said he expects it to take him “four or five” months to return to competitive condition on the triathlon circuit.

His switch to the road in 2009 came from his professed lifetime admiration for road racers. He said his hard-knock experiences racing this year only reconfirmed his belief that road racing is one of the most grueling and demanding sports.

“Physically, I was up for it, but it would take more another three years to learn the skills to win on the road,” he said. “The tension and suffering in road cycling is extreme. You’re going at 180 (beats per minute) and you have to think very fast.”

Raña bounced back from his crash at Mallorca and completed about 45 race days, primarily in races in Spain and Portugal. His best result was 37th overall at the Vuelta a la Rioja.