Triathlete europe, Holly Bennett, 6 January 2015
Posted by: Bitossi

A bike racer from the age of 10, Italy’s Massimo Cigana gained cycling acclaim in his late teens and twenties, winning numerous international competitions and placing second in the 1998 Giro d’Italia as an elite amateur. Subsequently he turned pro and in 2000 earned an invitation to race alongside Marco Pantani as a member of team Mercatone Uno. Poised as one of the world’s top up-and-coming professional cyclists, Cigana’s career path took an unfortunate turn in June 2001 when a horrific crash during a race left him with significant injuries (fractures of two vertebrae, his pelvis, coccyx, radius and ulna, plus major nerve and muscle damage in his legs) and immobilized him in bed for more than two months. After intense rehabilitation, including endless hours walking, running and swimming in the pool, he returned to competitive cycling in late 2001 and raced through 2003. Ultimately, though, he pulled the plug on his pro cycling career, as his legs continued to give him trouble. But Cigana was unwilling to let his competitive spirit and athletic ambitions be crushed, and with the encouragement of his rehab coach he turned his focus to swimming and running and in 2004 raced his first triathlon.

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Links: Massimo Cigana