De Lis' new lease of life

When 24-year-old Sergio De Lis surprisingly decided to retire from the sport mid-season in 2010, in the midst of his second year with Euskaltel, a lot of us were left bemused. When quizzed on the subject, Igor González de Galdeano remained coy, merely saying it was for "personal reasons" and that he didn't really want to talk about it. Now, more than 8 months on, Sergio De Lis has found a new lease of life: the life as a rower. Speaking to Gaizka Lasa of Bilbao newspaper El Correo, the former Orbea and Euskaltel all-rounder talks about his life after the bike. Taking up the sport in December, he's now rowing for San Sebastián-team San Pedro's second boat (whatever 'second boat' means). "I had continued to train (after hanging up the bike), but I lacked motivation", he said. "I needed that incentive, I needed that life". That life turned out to be onboard a boat. Though he's not alone in swapping the bike for the oar, or the other way around, antipodeans Amber Halliday, Drew Ginn and the late Amy Gillett, to name but three, have done the same, it's hardly the norm for ex-cyclists. Though admitting he's still coming to terms with the technique of his new sport, he still harbours dreams of one day competing in the big one. "Obviously I'd love to one day compete on La Concha, but at the moment I'm not setting myself any goals", he said modestly.