Interview Kitija Siltumēna

National time trial champion, traveler and a promising cyclist overall. Kitija Siltumēna is a very dedicated cyclist and working the way up in the sport. The 21 years old rider moved from Latvia to Belgium during the cycling season to live her cycling dream. The young rider aims to continue her journey in the coming years and become more competitive to take part in the biggest races on the calendar. In this interview she tells about her carreer, ambitions, cycling in Latvia and and her experiences abroad.

You became national time trial champion this year. What does this jersey mean to you?

As it is my first Elite national title it is always special. Well it could be better if on the start we could see the best riders as we were missing Dana Rožlapa due to the crash few weeks before, but still having the pressure by being the favourite for the title is never easy. It means a lot, as it has been always about chasing respect and appreciation from your own federation. Also I had pretty bad weeks before nationals, starting with crash taking me out for a week, continuing with food poisoning making my preparations impossible a month before, making it a surprise for me as well to be able to finish it off this way.

What are your strenghts?

It is still hard to tell as I am trying to discover it still. I love cobbles and classics in general, because it’s where I can reach good results, I progressed in Time trials in recent years, but in a whole world perspective I’m still far… So I would say more Spring Classics and one day races.

How do you look back on the past year?

A bit harsh, because I went into this year with fresh mind and bigger goals, also started season really promising until mid July where it went completely different direction. I’m still grateful for what I achieved and where I am currently, because this season has been the best one yet.

There are few cycling teams in Latvia. How was it for you to race abroad on a young age?

We have few teams in Latvia, but non of them are really racing outside Baltics, my previous club did some races in Poland, but it was like once a year, so if I wanted to go higher in sport I had to find a way to do it myself. I remember when I was still U17 I went to Belgium with my parents or with the national team for racing and I liked it. It’s completely different world of what we have at home. In Latvia you can predict the winner before the race started and every race was with boys, so it was all about who can follow them. So racing abroad gave more interest in sport, it made me work harder to reach the top there, because it will mean more. It was also a lot about learning coming from maximum 30 people peloton (where we were only around 5 girls; rest boys) to 60-70 people and all girls that are equal. It was like going unexpected world for me.

How did you get into cycling?

I got into cycling thanks to my dad, at young age I used to be a triathlete and one day my dad asked me and brother if we want to start to get better in triathlon as it was one of the disciplines. Till the point when I had to choose, because it was not possible to do both and at that time I had bigger passion for cycling that I still have in me.

What are your goals in the sport?

I do have a lot of dreams, but to be honest it will be hard to reach them, I will try. The biggest goal for sure is to become a professional cyclist and ride in WT one day. From racing part to win Paris - Roubaix as one of my strengths is cobbles.

You spend a large part of the year in Belgium. How are you feeling in your new environment?

I felt welcomed for sure. Yes, it was hard to change teams this year and move to Belgium after spending 2 years in the Netherlands, but it was time for the changes. Together with Keukens Redant it felt like home really fast thanks to them. I had a good communication with staff and riders, so if I needed something I could ask for help.

You also have a YouTube channel. Can your fans follow you further there in the future

It actually all started with a project in university this year, but I would love to continue with it and show my insides on cycling and everything around it. As I define myself as a bit creative person I can saw sure everyone can follow me further also on YouTube.?