Kristian House retires

Veteran to retire at end of 2017

Domestic racing stalwart Kristian House has said his decision to retire at the end of the season, which he announced last week, was motivated by a desire to go out on his terms.

House, who spent seven years on John Herety’s Jltcondor squad before moving to One Pro Cycling last year, said: “I’d rather end on my terms. A lot of guys struggle to get contracts and just peter out. I didn’t want that to happen, I wanted to go out when I felt it was right.”

The Kent-born racer said he had come to the decision over the winter and decided to announce it early in the season, in part to allow him to find another job for when he finishes riding competitively but also to give him the chance to return to races such as the Tour of Britain to say goodbye to the UK sport’s fans.

He added there was no chance of him changing his mind: “There’s no coming back once you do it. You need to be sure about it.

“I’m still amazed that I left America at 17 to come to Europe and I said to my mum, ‘I don’t know if it’s going to be one, two or five years.’ It’s now 18 years later.”

House also said the team’s step down to Continental level racing this season had not been a factor in his decision and actually suited him as he is now more likely to return to many of his old stamping grounds in his final year.

When asked what he would do after retirement House said: “Honestly, I’ve not talked about anything; the first step is deciding you’re going to retire. I’m not retiring for something else. It couldn’t be another reason because that might mean that you’re not done racing. That’s generally why people make comebacks.”

House is set to race the Tour Series and the National Championships before hopefully riding the Tour of Britain later this year.