In front of an estimated 12,000 strong crowd, Kristian House once again proved that he is capable of rising to the occasion, fighting to an excellent second place at the IG Markets Smithfield Nocturne on Saturday night.
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After the race was split asunder in the early stages by pressure from Team Sky, House rode an intelligent race all the way to the line, but simply couldn’t get the better of Ian Stannard at the finish.
“To be honest I was happy to come second to Ian tonight- he was the strongest out there by far. I felt good and we, as a team, are always motivated by this event. The crowds are huge and with our sponsors being London based, it is like a home event for us. I would have loved to have won, but there was a better man on the night.”
House’s second place was the Rapha Condor Sharp team’s third second spot in a row at the event, which attracts many top World Tour professionals to the capital for a full night of racing action.
“It is a little frustrating to miss out on this one, the support here for us was great and I really appreciated that. When you have guys like Stannard, Goss, and Lancaster who have come here with the Giro in their legs, it is a tall order for the domestic guys to get the better of them. Doesn’t mean we make it easy for them though.”
House will now return to criterium action as the Rapha Condor Sharp team heads into the final week of the Halfords Tour Series in second place overall, with two rounds remaining.
