Talkingshop: The Dude, Kristian House

Former British Road Race Champion (2009) Kristian House is in Rapha colours again for 2012 and VeloUK spoke to him last weekend about the season ahead.

Winner of the Tour of South Africa last year as well as a stage in the Vuelta a Leon, Kristian, who is based in Cheshire during the season, has spent the winter in the US (Texas). “I went back to the US at the start of November last year and had some time off” he explained to VeloUK.

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“I started training again towards the end of November and it’s gone well with a lot of hours and a lot of Ks. I have a new coach and have been working with him closely in the last month so I’m hoping for a good year.”

Kristian explained how the weather in the US can be as cool as it is here in the mornings but the days heat up and the sun comes out and the weather is good for training. The Clayton Velo Spring Classic was his first race in Britain for 2012 but the rider nicknamed the ‘the Dude’ has also raced in the US already this year where he says the level of racing is high with the likes of Trek-Livestrong and other teams with riders from Europe and as far away as New Zealand.

Asked whether his season will be different at Rapha with the team taking on more of a development role, Kristian replied “With a young team, the pressure won’t be on us but the other teams. That said, I think we have a strong enough group of riders to where we’ll make an impact on the racing and I’m sure it will be a good year for us.”

“My goals for this year are quite similar to the past couple of years, you have the Tour of Britain and the nationals and a few stage races along the way that I have an interest in. Also, this year there’s trying to help the young guys and mentor them on a bit.”

Kristian is as I write this, competing in a crit in Singapore and will then go to the Tour of Taiwan.

Kristian doing some work at the front in the Clayton Velo Spring Classic last weekend.

 

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