Saul Raisin continues to defy expectations in remarkable recovery from a life-threatening crash in April that sent him into a coma and put his future as a professional bike racer in doubt.

Raisin returned to Europe last week to spend a month in Monaco and to pose for photographs the 2007 team photograph, a sure sign that the Crédit Agricole rider is making solid progress toward a possible comeback perhaps as early as next season.

Raisin, 23, can’t guarantee he’ll race in the European peloton again, but he’s going to try. VeloNews European correspondent Andrew Hood recently caught up with Raisin after he landed back in Europe, here are excerpts of the interview:

VeloNews.com: It sounds like things are coming along very well, so how much riding can you do these days?

Photo: Casey B. Gibson

Saul Raisin: I did 28 hours the week before we came to Europe. Physically, I am getting strong, but I still have a few small mental problems. The only problem is for the next 12 to 18 months, the doctors said I cannot get another hit to my head. I couldn’t race, because if I was to hit my head, that would be very dangerous.

VN:: What kinds of problems are you still experiencing?

SR: If you were with me on a daily basis, you couldn’t even tell. I don’t know if you could pick them out, but there are little problems. I do things that are out of character. I lie a lot, but I think I am telling the truth. I might say something inappropriate.

VN:: How are you recovering from your injuries? What have the doctors told you about what you can expect?

SR: If my brain has time to heal, I am free to do whatever I want. If I were to get into a little fender-bender right now, I’d have to go straight to the hospital. The thing that’s so frustrating about a brain injury is that there is so much that is unknown. They don’t know for sure what’s going to happen with me. They just don’t know for sure. When you consider after being in a coma and where I was three months ago, I am surprisingly strong.

VN:: It sounds like physically you’re doing very well, what are you able to do and what are your plans for the coming months?

SR: My goal is to move back to Europe in January and do some intense training and see how far I can go. I am not guaranteed of anything, but that’s my goal. I will try and see what happens. That would be exceptional. Right now I am doing everything that they said I might never do. Everything from now on is an extreme bonus. They said I might be in a bed for the rest of my life. When my parents came to France, they were talking to them about organ donation. I couldn’t even lift my head off my pillow. I didn’t even think about bike racing. I was just trying to feed myself or go to the bathroom. You had to learn everything from scratch. I am taking it one step at a time.

VN:: Do you realistically believe you can come back to race in Europe again?

SR: I want to and that’s my ultimate goal. I am planning on it. I just have to be patient, this something I cannot rush. I have to take it one step at a time. That’s the most frustrating, if you break your arm, you know in six weeks you’ll be OK. With brain injuries, they don’t know. They can’t tell you how things are going to turn out. I am doing exceptionally well. It’s crazy. I am doing everything they said I would never do again.

VN:: You were scheduled to take your team picture for Credit Agricole for 2007, how important has been the team support for you during this time?

SR: The team has been great. [Team manager] Roger Legeay came to see me in Georgia in August. Thor (Hushovd) won the last stage in the Tour wearing my ‘Raisin Hell’ bracelet. He called me up and said, ‘Saul, we won the race together. I carried you across the line on my wrist.’ The whole team wears my bracelets. The team has been more than supportive. I am still on the team. That’s fantastic. I remember my No. 1 goal when I came back to the USA was to lift my head off my pillow. That was something I simply couldn’t do. Just taking that into consideration, I’ve come back from being in a coma!

VN:: You’re not worried that you could re-injure yourself if you had another bad crash?

SR: The doctors said it won’t hurt after that 12 to 18 month period, then it’s not a problem. If the doctors say I shouldn’t race, then it’s a no-brainer. I am not going to race if it’s going to kill me. There was no question about that. I still have an open sore on my brain where they went in and did surgery. It’s going to be six months [Oct. 6] and what’s happened to me is something incredible. When I was still in the hospital, if I could live a normal life again, I would be a happy man. The day after coming back to Europe, I rode the Col de Madone. It’s great.

VN:: How has this horrible crash and rehabilitation effort changed you?

SR: It’s changed me a lot. I want to give back and help people that have gone through this. I want to help people and families who are going through the same thing I’ve gone through. This is something you cannot do by yourself. Don’t give up, because I’ve seen a lot of people just give up. You have to keep fighting and it does get better.