About Roman

Foto: (c) Ondřej Pýcha

Roman Kreuziger was born on May 6, 1986, in Moravská Třebová. From his childhood he devoted his time to sports. He had a go at football, ice-hockey but his future was decided when he received a road bicycle as a present for his 11th birthday. Since then road cycling has dominated his life. In the early days his father, a retired cyclist and the former under 19 cyclocross World Champion was his mentor, later on, young Roman, a member of the team Škoda Plzeň trained under coaches Raboň and Pečenka, respectively.

At the age of fifteen he joined a junior cycling team called Schumacher in Switzerland where he spent almost four years. After that he wore the colors of the Italian team Podenzano for riders under 23 and since 2006 he has been a member of the team Liquigas, eventually becoming one of its leaders. An excellent climber and very good time trialist he specializes in stage races.

Roman is a graduate of Sports and Business Academy in Plzeň. He is glad to have completed his education as he maintains that one never knows what may happen in sports life, so having a degree is necessity. The city of Plzeň is his permanent residence while in winter he customarily travels to the Lago di Garda region in Italy for his training sessions. He also trains in mountains of the Czech Republic, namely in the surroundings of the village of Horská Kvilda in Šumava. He is fluent in German and Italian and has two sisters, Helena and Tereza.

His father has been a great role model for him. He remains to be his mentor and adviser and if time permits they go out for a bicycle ride together. Despite his young age, Roman is a well-known sports figure all over the Czech Republic. He is a two- time holder of the title the King of the Czech Cycling. In 2008 he was named the 8th best Sportsperson of the Year in the Czech Republic challenging Olympic winners and World champions on the list of other nominees.

Previous teams:
Skoda Pilsen (blue bike with pink pig)
ZCE Pilsen/ RV Suls (Colnago)
GS Schumacher WD 40 (2004, Daccordi)
GS Podenzano (2005, Bianchi)
Team Liquigas (2006/10, Cannondale)
Astana (2011/2012)

Favorite food:
Pizza Gorgonzola with nuts

Beverage:
Red wine

Cars:
Fast and reliable

Favorite place:
Lago di Garda

Actors:
George Clooney, Angelina Jolie, Nicolas Cage

Music:
Light Rock

Favorite colour:
Blue

Favorite movie:
60 seconds

Favorite sports:
Cross-country skiing, ice-hockey

Height:
183cm (6ft 0in)

Weigh:
66kg (140lb)

First bike:
A blue bike with the pink label of a pig

Favorite season:
Summer, winter