Kyle Jones
Canadian TriathleteLondon WCS
This past weekend’s London World Championship Series event was by far the most competitive race of the year thus far. Not only was it the Olympic Test event, but many countries also used it as a selection race for the Games. I ended up with a 19th place finish. I’m happy with the effort yesterday but need to find a few more seconds in time for the Grand Final in September. Looking forward to the next 5 weeks of training. With a bit of fine tuning I believe I can be right in the thick of things!
In the courtyard before the race with Coach Jon and the trainer:
Hamburg WCS
Today I raced my first World Championship Series event of 2011 in Hamburg, Germany. I crossed the finish line in 12th place. Overall I’m very happy with the result. It’s always tough racing back to back weekends and with a transatlantic flight thrown in there, it can be especially difficult. Fortunately, I recovered rather quickly from Edmonton and seemed to adapt to the European time zone pretty well in the days leading up. Nevertheless, it’s hard to compete against guys who either live here or base themselves here for the summer.
That being said, tomorrow I’m off to France with coach Jon to meet up with Simon and the crew for a short training camp before we head over to London for the WCS race in a few weeks. It will be nice to get in a bit more training and staying over in Europe will certainly help for London.
Photo courtesy of the ITU:
Edmonton World Cup
Yesterday in Edmonton I equaled my best ever World Cup result with a 4th place finish. I would have loved to of been on the podium, especially in front of the home crowd, but I’m very happy with the result. It gives me good confidence heading into the next block of races. I’m off to Europe this afternoon. I’ll be racing my first World Championship Series event of 2011 this weekend in Hamburg. Following the race I will be heading to France for a short training camp, and then onto London for the WCS event.
A few pictures courtesy of the ITU.
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Mission Accomplished
The last three weeks have gone very well for me. The goal at the beginning of this trip was to improve my ranking and I scored maximum points over 3 races so I’m very pleased.
Yesterday was the final race of the three. We were in China for the ITU Weihai Premium Asian Cup. The race played out very similar to last week in Japan. Gavin Noble (IRL), Mitchell Robins (AUS), Brent and I exited the water together. We were later caught by Claude Eksteen (RSA) and Anton Chuchko (RUS) in the first 5k of the bike and the six of us rode together and got a lead on the rest of the field. I had a smooth transition and was first out onto the run. I was able to run controlled for the first 5k and then picked up the pace on the second half and opened a gap. I ended up winning by about 45 seconds.
Going into the race I felt good but inevitably I was carrying a bit more fatigue compared to the previous weeks. My legs didn’t feel quite as strong on the run but I was still able to execute my race plan and get the job done so I’m happy.
I’m back in Victoria now for a good block of training and then next up is the Edmonton World Cup on July 10th.
Amakusa Asian Cup
Today I raced the ITU Amakusa Asian Cup in Japan. Much like last week, the goal was to score as many points as possible in order to boost my ranking. I was able to do just that, coming away with another win. I am very pleased with the result!
I had a much better swim today, getting to the front early on and settling in to the lead group. We had a small group of seven exit the water together. Onto the bike there were five of us that worked really well together and by the end of the 40km we were able to maintain our lead on the rest of the field. I started the run fairly conservative as the first half was quite hilly. Gavin Noble (Ireland) went straight to the front and opened up a small gap. I ran about 20 metres behind him for most of the run. With about 1km to the finish I closed the gap and then surged up the final climb. I ran hard for a few hundred metres and it was enough to get a gap. I was very happy to get another win and share the podium with my teammate Brent McMahon, who finished 3rd once again. One more race next weekend in China and then I’m heading back home to prepare for Edmonton.
Off to Asia
This past weekend I raced the ITU Ixtapa Pan American Cup in Mexico. The race went very well. I won, and more importantly, scored some decent points to boost my ranking. There’s a recap of the race on the Triathlon Magazine Canada website here.
Immediately following the race I went back to my hotel, packed my bike, and headed to the airport to fly back to Canada. I’ve spent the last 2 days in Vancouver so I could get a Chinese travel visa. Everything went smoothly and it was actually a nice little break before traveling again. Kelly came over from Victoria which was a huge bonus! I’m now off to Asia for 2 more continental cup races. One in Amakusa, Japan and another one in Weihai, China. Should be a fun trip!
Back Country Zona
My technologically savvy training partners have inspired me to create a video of my own. Here’s my first crack at it:
All is well
It’s now been four weeks since the “bone crusher” and I collided in the pool and I’m happy to say that things have progressed very well. I’ve started swimming without my splint and the hand/wrist seems to be okay! I’m still being cautious as I don’t want anymore setbacks but everything seems to be back on track.
To be honest, this injury hasn’t affected my training too much. With the exception of some missed swimming the first week I haven’t really missed a beat in regards to my riding and running. In fact, I think all the trainer riding I’ve been doing has actually made me stronger. It will be nice to get back out on the road though!
Running has been coming along well. We’ve been doing things a little different this year and I seem to be responding well to the program. A couple weeks ago coach Jon had us run a half marathon as part of our training. Having never raced one before I wasn’t really sure what to expect but I enjoyed the distance. I struggled a bit from 5-10k but was able to get back on track in the second half thanks to some pacing from Jon. It was nice having him out there. I finished in a time of 1:07:35.
The triathlon season is officially underway with the Mooloolaba World Cup occurring just this past weekend. It was exciting following it online. I’m certainly getting anxious to race but I won’t be toeing the line for another six weeks. The past few years I’ve usually tried to hit the first couple races of the season, but with everything that has gone on we’ve decided to delay it a bit this year. It’ll be nice to get some more training in.
