Tour of Britain: Rapha Condor line-up for The Tour of Britain

Rapha Condor will line-up for this September’s Tour of Britain, led once again by Kristian House, and his wealth of experience in the race, which includes a 10th place overall in the 2009.

House, who also wore the King of the Mountains during the 2009 Tour of Britain will be an invaluable asset to a young Rapha Condor team, most of whom will be tackling the race for the first time.

House will line up alongside Australian’s Richard Lang and Ben Grenda, South African Christopher Jennings, and two of the teams bright hopes for the future, Richard Handley and Mike Cuming. First year senior Luke Mellor has been announced as the team’s reserve.

Three of the riders from Rapha Condor who will be at the Norfolk Showground in just over a weeks time for the 2012 Tour of Britain; Kristian House, Richard Handly and Mike Cumming.

Cuming will look forward to Stage Five of the race, which passes just yards from his house during the closing kilometres of the Stoke-on-Trent Stage as the race heads across Biddulph Moor. Team manager John Herety is quietly confident of his selection, and spoke of their ambitions for the race:

“We have similar ambitions as we have had in previous years going into this race. We want to be aggressive and able to infiltrate breaks. At this stage of the year, the racing often proves to be quite controlled, with only one or two days when a break might possibly stick. We have a young team and I feel it is important for them to go into this race with their eyes open.”

The team’s mix of youth and experience is something that Herety considered essential to making the event a success for the Rapha Condor development program. ”We are taking a very young team on average. Only Kristian and Rich Handley have ridden in the race before so there will be a lot to learn for the others. I am sure that in light of the success British riders have had this year it will be a special event, and I know that the guys I have chosen are capable of rising to such an occasion.”

The Tour of Britain gets underway in Ipswich on Sunday 9th September, for Stage One from Ipswich Waterfront to the Norfolk Showground.

Rapha Condor Provisional Line-up: Mike Cuming; Ben Grenda; Richard Handley; Kristian House; Christopher Jennings; Richard Lang;

Reserve: Luke Grivell-Mellor