Former Rabobank professional Kai Reus has decided to take up skating as part of a permanent – or possibly temporary – break from racing. The 2003 world junior champion said this week that he will try out a new sport, competing in skating marathons.
“Now I don’t shave my cycling legs. They are therefore suitable for skating,” he joked, according to ANP.
The 25 year old got an unexpectedly strong reaction to the news, with many messages by phone and email. These included requests for interviews, an invitation to write a regular column. Bizarrely, he also received offers from existing marathon teams to race with them.
They took it a lot more serious than he did. "I skate for fun and a bit of keeping fit,” he clarified on his website. “I’ll do it in the C-Class but they shouldn’t infer that something more than just enjoy doing. I have no expectations of myself….I have not skated in eight years.”
Last month, Reus announced that he was giving up competitive cycling. He had a difficult three years in the sport, crashing heavily while training in the French Alps in July 2007 and spending almost two weeks in a coma.
He was out of the sport for a year. Last season, things appeared to be back on track when he won a stage, led the race and finished fourth overall in the Tour of Britain. However he was subsequently hit by mononucleosis, and had to stop racing until May. Netting 35th overall in the Tour of Belgium wasn’t enough to stop his disillusionment and he decided to quit.
"It's just not good," he said on the team website. “There is more going on than I can quickly explain, but I've just had enough of all these setbacks.
"I have spent three years fighting to come back. There have been many ups and downs, and I must now look carefully at what I will do in the future.”
One small comfort for his fans is the fact that he hasn’t completely ruled out a return to competitive cycling in the future. Another is the fact that in taking up marathon skating, he will keep in shape in the meantime. If he opts to give the pro ranks another shot, the comeback should be easier than the one he has already endured.