At the ripe age of 22, Saul Raisin is putting the finishing touches of his first season in the elite ranks inside the European peloton. The Georgian rode to impressive results in his neo-pro season with Crédit Agricole, finishing ninth overall at the Tour of Germany and winning the best climber’s jersey at the Tour de l’Avenir.

All that came after overcoming a horrible crash at the Four Days of Dunkirk in May when he was hit by a motorcycle in the race caravan that left him with several broken bones.

The strong late-season results only fuel the fire within Raisin, who is looking ahead to the 2006 season with even more ambitions. VeloNews European correspondent Andrew Hood caught up with Raisin just days after his long breakaway in the elite men’s event at the world road championships in Madrid. Here are excerpts from the interview:

VN.com: Nice ride in Madrid, tell us about your performance …

Saul Raisin: We had our team meeting and we decided everyone can do what they want to do until two laps to go, then it was all for Freddy (Rodriguez) and Guido (Trenti). I was debating on what to do. I could go into an early break or I can wait until the end and try to be in the front group. Of course, I’m not a sprinter and everyone thought it would come down to a group of 30-50 guys, so it was better to try to go early and get into a break and see what happens.

VN.com: When you snuck away, you never thought you could stay away, did you?

SR: We were hoping to get at least 20 minutes. If we could have had 25 minutes, we might have had a chance and it could have come down to the last lap. Of course, there was no way they were going to let us get that much time. We were hoping someone would come across to us. I was calculating how long we could last, but once the speed picked up, the gap came down real fast.

VN.com: One of your fellow escapees, Dmitriy Muravyev, is one of your teammates at Crédit Agricole, right?

SR: It was funny, one of my training partners on Crédit Agricole is Dmitriy. We just did a huge training ride together and were joking about getting into a break together. I attacked over that climb and looked back and he was right there. We laughed and shook hands and just took off. We didn’t slow down until that last lap, by then I was pretty cooked. I was debating about trying to finish. I rode 5km with the peloton, then I saw the group really stretched out as the pace really picked up.

VN.com: You must be satisfied nonetheless, because wasn’t this your first world’s?

SR: I was really happy with it. It’s the world championships. You’re off the front all day, the crowds are huge, and you don’t get to that all the time. I felt really good out there in the race.

VN.com: What’s next for you?

SR: I was going to do my best in the race and try to use world’s to get ready for my next races. I want to do well in GP Zürich, some French Cup races and then Lombardia. That’s my two end of season of objectives, so I wanted try to stay strong and motivated.

VN.com: You’ve had a long season, you’ve been racing since spring …

SR: I did Langkawi in Asia and my first race in Europe was Chiesa then Lugano. I had a month break to get ready for Georgia. I did okay there, but overall I’ve had a really good season.

VN.com: Your crash at Dunkirk was pretty bad, wasn’t it?

SR: A motorcycle hit me from behind. It crashed into me right below my hip. I broke my hip, some ribs and my collarbone. I had to stay in Europe and I wasn’t able to walk or anything. I was in the hospital for week and half, but I healed really fast. It was amazing how fast I came back. My first four days couldn’t get out of bed and then I got back to training as soon as I could. They flew me to Nice on stretcher, then two weeks later walking without cane. I just can’t stand staying inside a home, so I had to get out of hospital as soon as I could.

VN.com: When was your first race back to racing?

SR: The Tour de Suisse. I was 37th overall and I was pretty happy with that. I wasn’t supposed to touch the bike for a month and a half, but I didn’t want to miss too much of the season. I was able to feel good again pretty fast. Then I raced the Tour of Austria, where I was 13th overall and I finished eighth in the big mountain stage. I started getting some good form after racing the Tour of Saxony and the Tour de l’Aine for training.

VN.com: Were you surprised by your result at the Tour of Germany?

SR: I’ve been racing bikes long enough to know that you can tell you’re getting into good form. I knew I was riding well. When I went to Germany, I really thought I could do something in the race. I was ninth overall and I was really excited about that. For me, I was happy to prove it to myself. I always thought I could do it, but to finally pull it off in a big ProTour race like that was satisfying. Finally this year everything is coming around. Instead of just talking about it, I’m doing what I always wanted to do.

VN.com: This is your second year in Europe, are things turning around for you?

SR: Last year I was never motivated, because it was my first year in Europe. I never get to where I wanted to be last year. This year things are going a lot better. I wasn’t even that good at Georgia, I was a couple of kilos heavy, then I did well. I was really focused to be there in Dauphine and Tour de Suisse, then I crashed when I was coming into really good form. Then I had to start back at square one. I knew after Georgia that I had it in my head. This year I’ve been really motivated all year, just getting into better form, just getting more mature. Even this year, I’ve raced 75-80 races, but I don’t feel any burn out yet. Of course, I had a month of no racing, but I feel like I could get in 10 more races this year if I wanted to. I think I’m going to finish up the season and start next season with a good foundation.

VN.com: Avenir was also a big race for you, how did things work out?

SR: I won the climbing jersey and on the hard climbing stage, my teammate won and I got second. We went away with 10km and at one point I was the virtual lead, but they brought us back. I came to the Avenir with the objective of winning, but once we saw the profile, it wasn’t really a race that fit my characteristics. The only really hard day was the stage that I won all the mountain jersey points. Plus, the race was so dangerous. There were so many crashes. I just sat in the back and missed all the moves. I finally decided to save everything for the one hard day and it paid off for the team with the stage and climber’s jersey.

VN.com: Will you race Avenir again?

SR: I’m done with it. A lot of guys have the mentality that they have to win, then they will get a contract. For a lot of guys without a contract, this is the big race with prestige. It’s all or nothing. Guys risk everything to win. I like races more like the world’s, Zürich or Lombardia, where it’s really hard. Either you have it or you don’t. I’m getting better at the tactics, but I like it where either you’re the strongest or you lose.

VN.com: So you’re staying with Crédit Agricole then?

SR: I had a neo-pro contract for this year. I had a lot of offers after Germany, offers for 2007-08, but I was forced to think about it. I decided to stay with Crédit Agricole for two more years (through 2008). I’m just 22, I just want to stay focused on racing and not have to worry about changing teams. I don’t race for money, I race for the pleasure and the enjoyment of the sport. I just wanted a good contract with good incentives. If I race well, give me some good bonuses. There’s a lot of trust with me and the team. If you get a big contract or these big offers, that can hurt you too if you start worrying about money instead of just racing.

VN.com: What was your first contact with Crédit Agricole?

SR: It was through Noel and the U23 team. I had some strong performances in Europe, I was best young rider in Georgia. Crédit Agricole told me they were interested in Patrick McCarty or me. Pat signed with Discovery, so I told them before Trans-Alsace that I was interested and they gave me the proposition. I crashed that day. The race leader hit a barrier, and the barrier flipped into the road and I went head-first into the barrier. I flipped over and hit cement post and it almost killed me. Crédit Agricole sport director Lionel Marie was in team car No. 1. He was the first person to help me. I was lying in the side of the road, I wasn’t breathing, I choking on my tongue. If he wasn’t there, I don’t know what would have happened. He saved my life. I signed with the team and live in Menton. He helped me find an apartment and in the last year we’ve become really good friends. (Editor’s note: Marie now works with Cofidis.)

VN.com: How was your first year in Menton along France’s Cote d’Azur?

SR: Well, it was kind of lonely. There are lots of retired people living there, but it’s close to everything. I had a really tiny, crappy apartment. It was dirty and loud. There was a lot of traffic and it was hard to sleep. I didn’t know anybody. After the race, I didn’t have a car, so I had to walk everywhere. This year I decided I didn’t want to stress out over the little things, so I am taking care of things. I bought an apartment so now I can make it my home.

VN.com: Why not live in Girona with most of the other Americans?

SR: The team said I could live anywhere as long as it had a big airport close by and a lot of the Americans said I should come to Girona. Truthfully, I like being a little independent and being a little different. I thought, I’m going to be on a French team and I need to learn French, so I thought I may as well as open up and learn some new things. Europe is where my job is, so I have to adapt. If I went to Girona and hung around a bunch of Americans in Spain, I’d never learn French. I talked a lot to Freddie (Rodriguez) and he said you have to make this place your home and settle in. That’s how you have to do it and that’s why I’m doing so much better this year. Last year I wasn’t happy. I missed my friends and family, I wanted to go home. I didn’t want to go do these crappy races in Belgium, but I just stuck it out and didn’t give up on it. Finally at end of last year, I started to come around. It wasn’t easy. Even little things like just paying bills can be traumatic. I’ve never lived by myself before, so just taking the little things and doing it in French, it multiplies it like a factor of 10.

VN.com: How did you ever get into racing in the first place?

SR: My dad before I was born had a bicycle shop, but it really didn’t influence my cycling that much. On vacation in Florida there were bicycle trails all over this island and I always rode since I was a kid. That just sparked it all. When I was 13-14, my dad started doing these local group rides. Those rides were really competitive and I started to tag along. I mountain bike raced until I was 17 years old, then someone told me to start training on the road, then I just got hooked on the road Then it went from there. I got on the national team and did a few races with them. I got on the U23 team and had some good results.

VN.com: How does it feel to be a professional bike racer now?

SR: If someone asked me when I was 19, would you turn pro at 22, I wouldn’t have believed it. I didn’t even think about until this year. It’s hard to believe it until you get the first pay check, then you realize you’re a pro. It’s a different mentality, it’s professional now. You have to do your job, that’s the biggest difference. You have to stay serious.