Team News: James Mitri Signs for Burgos BH

First year senior, James Mitri signs a three year deal for Burgos BH pro continental team in Spain

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Team News: James Mitri Signs for Burgos BH

First year senior, James Mitri signs for Burgos BH pro continental team in Spain and says “the possibility to ride for the team came about and became a reality which is great as it has always been my dream to go pro from a young age”.

His team has worked its way up the ranks from humble beginnings as a small amateur team, to the top amateur team in Spain and then on to continental and then pro continental for this year. “For this season, James explains, we have a strong team with some experienced and strong riders. The team also has a good race calendar and we are aiming for the wildcard for the Vuelta Espana.”

James is based in Spain on the island of Mallorca. He says of that “I have been living in Deia for the past year and it’s an amazing training base with perfect terrain for days in the mountains and also flat days if I need.”

“The weather is relatively consistent so I don’t get held back too often from training and if I do, then I go to the gym. I have also made a good group of friends here in the pro community so I can always train with people of a good level. So far I have been quite lucky with the weather and not had any problems meaning I have been able to train as Vicente tells me to. I had a couple of training camps with the team in December and January in Benidorm so maybe I missed the bad weather.”

“A typical weeks training is normally some long days on the bike, then some shorter four hour days with intervals and some motor-pacing on other days. I train normally six days per week and during the winter, a few gym sessions, as this is good to help prevent injuries.”

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James is also learning the language, always important when fitting in with a team from abroad. “I’m slowly learning Spanish although being an island relying a lot on the tourism industry, English is widely spoken”.

Asked what his strengths are, he says “at 58 kilos, I’m a climber but a versatile one. I can be strong in the mountains and maintain position on the flatter days too. So in the future, a GC rider but at the moment I will develop step-by-step in the team.”

Jame says his season will begin in the Vuelta Murcia on the 10th of February. “It’s a nice race to debut in with a hard course and star studded field” he explains.

His pathway to signing for this pro team included a spot in a well known team, HMT with JLT Condor for Juniors. “It was a great junior team and gave me good opportunities to show my talents abroad. Tony and Mark have a lot of passion for developing young talents in cycling so the team had an amazing setup. I’m also really proud that I’m the second rider that has been through HMT to go pro on the road as last year was a difficult year for the team.”

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Asked what his best race was in 2017, he says “the best race I did in 2017 was probably Vuelta Pamplona because I won, however I guest rode for Cartagena Esetec for this race and the next best would be Bizkaiko Itzulia as it had lots of good climbs”.

And the toughest race in 2017? “Toughest race was probably Tour of Flanders or Bizkaiko Itzulia but its hard to compare the two”.

The team bikes are of course from title sponsor BH as James explains. “The bikes have Vision wheels, Dura Ace Di2, FSA for handlebars and stem and Prologo saddles. I’m really happy with the bike as it feels comfortable, which is important when you’re doing 20+ hours per week on it.”

“It climbs well too and also handles good so I’m satisfied. Without a good bike, it’s hard to win and BH have covered this providing the team with great equipment.”

Good luck to James for the 2018 season and the seasons that follow with the team

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