MEN'S CHAMPIONSHIPS - KRISTIAN BRINGS THE HOUSE DOWN TO WIN TITLE
CANTERBURY'S Kristian House was left delighted by taking a thrilling National Road Race Cycling Championships in Wales today.
The 29-year-old has secured some good victories in the past nine years but never anything as big as this.
House surged through on the finishing line to send Dorset's Daniel Lloyd into second place again after Lloyd had lost out to Tour de France star David Millar two years ago on over the same Abergavenny course.
Rising Isle of Man star Peter Kennaugh, a great friend of cycling's current man of the moment Mark Cavendish, was third and, in doing so, denied Barloworld team ace Chris Froome, who was riding his first National Championships, a podium place.
It was particularly tough on Froome because he rode the race of the day. He was out at the front for most of the afternoon and, after a long crawl up the main climb of the day, the Tumble Mountain, which was lined full of spectators, had built up an advantage of nearly three minutes over the chasers with double Beijing Olympic gold medalist Bradley Wiggins.
But, with Cavendish leading the fightback, that gap was closed down to nothing by the third of the final ten finishing laps around Abergavenny.
While Wiggins wilted to drop out before the final lap, Froome went for glory and took a 33 second lead into the last four-and-a-half mile circuits and looked certain to win.
However, the final three riders left in the chase hit back and the Kenya-born ace was caught and past with yards to go to the line.
It left House delighted and he said: "It's phenomenal - a dream come true. I raced well and it was all down to me at the end. I'm speechless.
"We knew that the race was going to come down to the five of us and, when Ian Stannard got dropped, it was down to us with two laps to go.
"We organised together and got back at Chris. At the end of it, I bided my time and went for it. Froome was on fire but he went a bit early at the end, I think."
Lloyd could not hide the hurt at finishing as bridesmaid afterwards and said: "I'm disappointed because you always want to come to the National Championships and win it. But I was not riding that fantastic today."
Kennaugh, 20, is, though, another rider who looks to be heading for cycling stardom alongside Cavendish, who finished sixth behind 2003 and 2004 national champion Roger Hammond.
He was awarded the Under-23 national jersey and also was allowed to claim the senior bronze medal just hours after Lizzie Armitstead was denied her senior silver in the women's road race because British Cycling said she could not win two prizes in the same race.
However, a British Cycling meeting on Saturday night in Abergavenny overturned that decision, one which women's winner Nicole Cooke described as 'crazy', in time for Kennaugh to have the senior silver placed over his neck.
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