George Mills-Keeling has a love of climbing hills. We caught up with George where he talks about how he trains to ride hills, hard and smash them in races. As well as get his predictions for the jerseys in this years TdF.

We managed to tear Ribble Weldtite's George Mills-Keeling away from the hills long enough to have a quick chat. In this blog, we talk about all things climbing, as well as find out who his picks are for the jerseys for in year's TdF.

Hill climbing.

Thanks for catching up with us George. So people either love them or hate them but hills and climbing are definitely your thing. So what is it about the climbing that you love? In a training setting, I love the feeling of accomplishment that comes along with getting to the top. Tied to this is the training benefit that comes along with pushing on the pedals. In a race setting, I love that it usually is the deciding factor of a race. That it's all based on fitness.

"Longer threshold efforts."

Is there anything you do differently in your training to focus on climbing in comparison to the rest of the team. It’s all about longer threshold efforts, compared to some of the more sprint focused guys who might focus more on explosive power.

How is your bike set up currently, what changes have you make to last year? My race bike is currently set up with shallower Level carbon rims for weight saving and disc brakes which I didn’t have last year. The brakes are great, a small trade-off with weight but a massive amount of confidence gained.

The climbing machine.

What has been your proudest race moment? Stage 2 of the junior tour of Wales, attacking and forming a small group that went on to win the full podium on GC.

Can you give us a few tips for those wanting to improve their climbing?  Ride hills, hard.

Tour de France.

Let's move on to the Tour de France. There have been some epic climbs in there over the years. But first, who is your favourite rider in this year’s Tour and why?
Julian Alaphilippe, such a racer. Dares and wins.

Who do you think will take Yellow Jersey? Green Jersey/Polka dot Jersey/White Jersey? I think the yellow is going to be really close between so many guys, the green will be Peter Sagan and the white jersey I assume will go to Egan Bernal

Is there any rider who you think will be the surprise of the tour? Daniel Martinez after his win at the Dauphine.

What is your favourite TDF moment, and why? 
Geraint Thomas’s win on the Alpe d’Huez in 2018, in his book he said that he has always been unlucky in the tour but this was his year. It was great to see.

Click HERE to look at the bikes the pro team rides.

With the road racing season starting again, Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling Team and supporting partners have come together to give one lucky winner the chance to get fully kitted out with a pro team rider bundle worth over £7500. Click here to see what you can win.