Cold wet and wind was the theme for the day. 90km with another three finishing circuits in Valdor. Hit a hole in the road and destroyed a Zipp 404. ouch! I was surprised I did not have to change the wheel, but no more racing on that one. Chain came off on the final lap of the circuit when I was sitting in 8th wheel. Reached down and put it back on and a guy from the French national team helped me with a push! Pace always picks up on these final laps and the finishing sprint reaches speeds of about 40mph. Avg speed I posted yesterday was wrong, it was 28mph  and 27.8 today. Finished about 40th today even after my chain incident and that will move me up about 20 places. I am around 60th in the GC, down about 1 minute from the leader. Plan on pushing the TT as the climb is 500 meters of 20% grade then another 10K of flat. We also do a 77Km crit later in the evening, I hope to pick up some seconds there as well. Tuesday is our final day and it is another 90km rr finishing in Valdor again. 

Here is the picture link:

http://stonejones.smugmug.com/gallery/5544630_5M4mb#340046030_4PAgh

Wow..that was fast. We rode 60 miles into the wind and still avg 28mph. We took a bus ride to this remote town and rode back into Valdor. When we reached Valdor we did 4 laps around the city. I rode toward the front the entire time but got caught up in a crash on the first lap of the "crit". Just missed running over a kids head! I was then in bad position and moving up is easier said than done. The lead pack (10 sec) thought the race was over but we had anothe rlap to go. We all merged together and the pace was blistering. I ended up around 82nd and Now sit 48 sec off the lead. I'm hoping to do well in the crit and TT to pick up some time. It's cold and raining again today (Sunday) and we have to ride another 90km. 59 degrees and raining. I plan to work some magic on these crit laps as I will be toward the front when we hit the city streets.

The break thought it was over and stopped riding. We swarmed them and we were now all together.




Here are some photos for the day.

http://stonejones.smugmug.com/gallery/5541571_hiUEX#339468197_3YNJj

We did team presentations today and a 400m sprint coming off a ramp. The first riders had good weather with dry conditions. About an hour into it the rain was falling and hard. IT was cold and our team was almost the last to race. I was freezing and road was slick. Finished 5 sec. off the lead. No big deal yet! Finished and rode straight back to a warm shower. Look forward to Stage 1.

Picture Link
http://stonejones.smugmug.com/gallery/5541748_U5now#339434413_AtTKh

French Broad was my first Pro, 1,2 race and was really difficult. Started with about 45 racers and about 22 finished. We raced for 70 minutes and the attrition was severe the fist 45 minutes. It was hot and the pace was fast. There was a 200 meter climb that started after a very sharp turn at the bottom. Every time we hit that corned it was a huge effort to the top and the tempo stayed on with little recovery and then the hill again. I raced crits both days and the courses were similar with day 2 being a bit harder. I finished 14th the first day and 16th the second. No real trouble keeping up, but the big crit guns were out and they did lap the field on this short 1200 m course. Kept the rubber down which was my gaol as the  Tour de l'Abitibi was coming up in 4 days. Rode agressive and stayed safe. Rolled over the finish line with a flat rear tire.

Photo Link:

http://stonejones.smugmug.com/gallery/5539153_Yina4#P-1-12

This was my best race of the year so far, I raced CAT 3...the time trail was early in the morning.  It was the hilliest TT I've ever done.  It was impossible to get a rhythm on this course, it was 7.6 miles..I passed one guy and almost another.  my time was 17:42, the winning Time was 16:59...I got 7th out of a 30 or so man filed.  my adv power was 262 watts which puts me at about 5.4 watts per KG.  The RR was a tough one.  I went with every break I saw until I figured out that a break wasnt going to stick.  Everything was cool until I got a flat about 10 miles from the end and without a wheel truck.....my hero awesome super dad stopped and gave up his race and gave me his wheel.  THANKS DAD!!  I chased to get back on for at least 3 miles, but I managed.  I made my way to the front and was getting ready for the sprint.  A crash happened right behind me and almost took me out.  I managed to stay up and continue........the guy that hit me bent my derailuer in so I was stuck in my big ring and my twelve.. up a steep hill, I came in off the back of the pack. This is nothing to get mad about, hey, its racing. NOW...the Circuit race. We started with a 20MPH wind.  I played it cool for the first few laps, then I tried to string it out and get rid of some extra weight.  There were two big hills in this circuit.  I went with a few breaks that didnt stick.  Then we had 4 laps to go and I attacked in the windy section...a gap...I had two guys with me and almost immediately one was dropped..down to two.  We worked hard together.  A BIG thanks to Will, Kyle, and Brian for blocking for me. THANKS GUYS!!  We were starting to get a bigger gap, then with one to go I put in an attack on a hill and rocketed away from my break away companion.  On my attack I hit 980 watts...thats 20WPK..I dropped it down to V02 max level pace and held my gap...I finished solo across the line, about 40 seconds ahead of the pack.  This is my first Cat 3 win, and paid out 70 bucks.  I was 7th in the overall.

A special thanks to Hunter Allen for sponsoring, coaching and supporting me. Thanks Hunter.
Check out
www.peakscoachinggroup.com
www.trainingpeaks.com


To see all the photos go to,
http://stonejones.smugmug.com/gallery/4916679_rFWTW#293630988_MeMHa-A-LB



The Break(notice the feild in the background)



Going for the win



Victory


The podium

I decided to enter this race last min.  I raced Jr. 17-18, about 17 strong was the field.  We took off for 30 min of racing.  right off the bat a break formed with me and another guy.  He was dropped and two more bridged up.  we were working together very well, and kudos to my FFCC devo team for all the blocking,  we lapped the field with 2 laps to go. I attacked one of the guys in our break and shook him off.  Now its just me and a guy from the Juris Tri-Star team, I attacked on the last lap and got away from him and the whole field.  I finished solo across the line......theres not a better feeling.

(the pack shredded)


(victory)



(the podium (I need some podium girls)

So the training has intensified and race season has begun.  First race of the season was the Gainesville GA cup, I raced my last 4's race, the time trial was messy.....raining and 51 degrees.  I went out and gave my all..turned out a 4th best time a 21:58 on the 9 mile hilly course.  The same day was the 60 mile RR...rain...wind...chilled... a break got away and I wasnt able to go with them due to being boxed in at the wrong time.  they stuck and I finished in the field sprint.  Then the Crit....Finally some nice weather, about a 50 man field, a couple crashes and I ended up finishing 7th, I got 2nd in The KOM in the RR, and MAR in the crit, these were able to put me in first



TT in Gainesville




The second race of the season was Chattanooga, I raced 3's  The TT was short and sweet...and painful.  I dint know and official results because the organizers cant get their facts strait.  the crit was FAST adv speed 30.5 mph, and their were 5 turns, I sprinted in the front and took 5th, field of 50-60.  The road race was 70 miles, and was challenging, I was in perfect position to contend for the field sprint and the guy ahead of me basically stopped, I was forced into the grass at 40 mph...not fun.  I came in mid- pack

(3's crit sprint)


(cold and windy start to 70 mile RR)

In the past few weeks I have done a lot of training.  During the weeks I have been riding the tuesday and thursday club rides with about 20 extra miles taked on, then I will do my own 2 hour rides other days with intervals and all the stuff the boss man(coach) tells me.  On the weekends we have been doing the gaps.  A week ago I did 5 gaps and brasstown.....whew.  this past weekend we did about 75 miles....neels, blue ride 60mile route and woodys(thanks for taking us on that route Tracy).  Some of the MOST beautiful roads in Georgia...great but hard, on sundays we have been doing about 3-4 hours with specific w/o tangled up in it.  Easter was good, I went to my moms and visited with family.  Fun times. My first race will be Gainsville on April the 5th and 6th.  looking forward to it.

M

its a beast

52 mph