Kristian House (pictured) relinquished his National Road Race Championships crown at the weekend – and admitted the punishing Pendle course had got the better of him.

The 30-year-old, who won the title in Abergavenny last year, finished a lap early with only 11 of the original 130 starting list completing the 180km race in sweltering heat.

And the Rapha-Condor-Sharp rider revealed he had feared the worst before the long trip to Lancashire.

“It was a pretty horrid race to be honest,” said House, who hails from Canterbury.

“I always knew it was going to be a tough course and you just had to bide your time. I didn’t have the greatest legs on the day either and that always makes things even harder for yourself.

“I didn’t want to say it beforehand but the course really didn’t suit me – it’s very tough and you can tell that from the finishing numbers.

“I usually go okay in the heat to be honest but there was one severe climb that was really tough. I didn’t want to go too early – I probably could’ve gone early but I would’ve blown myself out.

“It was a tough day but I’m still happy with what I did though. It’s nothing on last year but I never expected anything different.”

Geraint Thomas romped home for the gold for Sky Pro Cycling, finishing just ahead of teammates Peter Kennaugh and Ian Stannard as the blue of Sky dominated the podium.

British Cycling is home to the Great Britain Cycling Team and represents Britain's most successful Olympic and Paralympic sport. British Cycling governs all cycling disciplines and together with British Sky Broadcasting, its principal partner, aims to inspire one million more people to cycle regularly by 2013.