So, lets see, what has happened...

He has been getting crappy call ups since he had very few points, since he doesn't race in the states at all.  He also has been in the usual bad patch that comes from the transition to Belgium.  Good form for a few weeks till all the stress catches up, then a bad patch, then he comes out of it and does well.  We seem to be out of it.

He had crap legs for the Kalmthout World Cup.  He had a bit better legs in Tabor, but was lined up DEAD LAST.  Seems the Czechs got to field a second team, since it was their home race, and they lined that team up in front with the A team, not back row.  The course was FAST and with horsepower up the road, and JP standing in line at the stairs, that was it. He was 23rd.

He did a good race in Nacht Van Woerden, in the lead group with Groenedal and Vervecken for three laps.  Then he popped, and slid to 7th.  Still not too bad. 

In the second Super Prestige, Jonathan got 15th, which is a pretty good result.  Really bad start position again.  The next day was the GVA Trophy race #1, at the Koppenburg.  This is the hardest race of the year.  Up the burg and down again.  The hardest downhill in cross.  Jonathan didn't have his 32's on yet, which was a drawback, and was getting passed on the downhill, which is crazy for him.  He was rocking the climb though, which is also crazy for him (easy....he is no John Gadret people) but was pulling like a horse and feeling good.  He ended up 13th, which is damn good for what is easily the hardest cross of the year. 

So that was a good weekend.  Next is Eernegem on Saturday and Hamme-Zogge Sunday, which is another Super Prestige race.  Then Neil on the 11th, which is the next GVA Trophy race.  Check back this weekend for updates on those races.  Hopefully he is back on top of it and will crack the top ten in a Super Prestige race, which he has yet to do.

Last bit of news is that HE WILL BE COMING BACK FOR NATIONALS!!  There was a very strong chance that he was not going to, as it falls on the same day as a World Cup.  WTF USA Cycling.  There are 3 WC's that week, with the third being same as nationals.  So, he is going to have to race in Wetzikon on Sunday, then Milan on Thursday, then drive back to Zurich and fly back to the east coast (thank god its not west coast) Friday, arriving Friday night.  The men's race is Saturday afternoon, so that will be tight.  Hope he has bikes...  Sunday is the Liberty Mutual race, so that will be cool.  I really miss having two races on the Nationals weekend.  THANKS LYLE!!

Finally, the reason he is coming back is the Liberty Seguros from Spain aka Liberty Mutual in the USA, called him and they will be sponsoring him for the weekend of Nationals.  They are the title sponsor of the weekend, and I guess they are really getting into cross, so they decided to call him up and they will be added to his jersey for the weekend.

Check out the new photos.  His bikes are MIPOZO's right now, till the Cervelos are done.  There are some pics in there.  Alot of folks have been asking about what he is riding.  I guess a carbon cross bike is not that simple to do right (its not simple, and not easy ;) so there has been some delay.

JP got a new set of bikes for the season, shortly before Neerpelt.  The position was much different then the HotTubes of last year that he started the season on, and he couldn't drive them without hurting himself, so he dropped out of the race. 

The next race he was good to go and got a very nice 7th place!

The next race was the Superprestige opener.  The course was dry and fast and favored group riding, much like a road criterium.  Jonathan didn't have good legs at the start and missed the lead group.  With all the horsepower up front rolling thru, he had no chance to regain without stupid good legs, and he came in 19th.  He sounded pretty disappointed in that, as he never has a bad start.  Some bad middles, but the starts are his strength.  So, onward and upward as my Dad used to say.

Jonathan and Cori (and Emma) have also been very busy going thru the house buying process.  It sounds as though they have the house they wanted and got approved for their loan and all that, but it has been (and I can attest to this myself) a very tiring, stressful exercise.  He said they have not had alot of time to do their usual routine and it hasn't been good for his racing.  He did say it seemed like things were leveling out and he hopes for good races this week.

We have races Saturday, the World Cup opener Sunday, Nacht Van Woerden Thursday night, which is a race he likes, and then another World Cup and another Superprestige Saturday and Sunday, so its a BIG WEEK.

Check back in as things will be hotting up here on the website as we get into the meat and patatahs of the season.

Got some new photos up in this years first pix album as well.

Another race done.  I did a diary for cyclingnews.com  and an interview too.  Not sure when they will be up so I'll write a quick update here too.

Today was my 2nd race of the season.  It was in Erpe-Mere, Belgium.  All the good guys were there today.  It was a hard course.  Never flat.  Some grass, some woods, no pavement.  It was going to be a good test.  After the start, there was an immediate split and the lead group was formed.  I made it!  But a lap later, I got another flat.  The 2nd group blew by me and a few others behind that group too.  I picked up my spare bike and decided to try to catch as many as I could.  I caught everyone from the 2nd group and then started catching guys dropped from the lead group.  I finished 10th.  Not bad for a flat tire in such a hard race.  I have good form!!!  I just have to get all of my new equipment and I think things will go for me this year!!!  Next race is Dottignies on Saturday. 

After about 20 minutes there was a split in the lead group and I had to pass 3 riders and then close the gap.  It took me a lap or 2 but I finally got there.  Then we were with 7. 

With 20 minutes to go I flatted.  Unfortunately for me, I don't have my new bikes yet so I had to piece together what I had a make 2 bikes.  There were 2 separate pits and I flatted just outside of the pit where my spare bike was.  Too bad.  But my form is good and I am happy with how I rode.  I think I ended up 13th ish.  It doesn't really matter I guess.  I am disappointed with flatting but happy that I am on par with the leaders. 

Next race is Erpe-Meere on Sunday.  Thanks for reading!
 

The guestbook has been messed up, I didn't realize it.  I think its fixed now so start posting again.

JP has a similar sponsor package to last year, with some changes though.  He is working with Hincapie Sportswear for his kit this year, and the design is different then previous years as its a new clothing sponsor and design team as a result.  Its a fresh look.  Here are some images of the design, click the link to see them.  They are Adobe and I can't get them to export to a jpeg without turning pink.  Whatever.  Might look cute on Cori.

images/Cervélo Jacket 05.pdf

images/Cervélo Shorts 05.pdf

images/Cervélo Vest 05.pdf

images/Cervélo Warmers 05.pdf

In other news, I will be adding links to all the sponsors as I get to it.  Be sure to watch for that and check them out.  We want to support the folks that support JP, plus he only runs the best products, so you know if he is using it, its good.  Euro cross has no room for bad parts.

As of now, the sponsors are Cervelo, Mavic, Adidas, Shimano, Thomson, and Mipozo.  Links to follow.

This weekend, JP wraps up his road season with the San Fran GP.  BIG RACE.  Should be exciting.  He then zips off to Belgium, I think he said his first race is like September 13 or something crazy like that!  I think that is the Summer Cross.  I will work on the schedule as he feeds it to me.

Hopefully this starts our regular updates.  Oh - JP will be doing journals for Cyclingnews.com which I think is great!  As a result, we will not be posting that many journals here, unless he learns to type faster.  I will still do news updates so we can get the latest gossip out.  So for sure, as if you don't already, check out Cyclingnews.com for your daily bike fix.

(Click the thumbnails for a larger image)

The crit has a long, downhill back section and traditionally finishes with a bunch sprint, so using their experience with the race, Mark McCormack and JP hatched the plan to lead him out to the win (he started 10 seconds down).  It worked to perfection.

JP didn't win the stage race because of a good crit, he won because of solid results over the whole of the race, combined with a pretty decent (great for him...) time trial which saw him loose only 30 seconds or so. He clawed that back by aggressive riding and great legs, with a 3rd in the hilly circuit race (teammate JJ Haedo won), attacking on the last lap.

He was 4th on the mountain top finish at Watchusette State Park, after attacking again and riding in the big break of the day.  Finally, the team effort in the crit gave him the overall win. 

Fitchburg is a classic because of the variety of races within the overall stage race.  It is usually won by a strong man all-a-rounder like teammate Mark McCormack, and also by his brother and team manager Frank McCormack.  Jonathan has added his name to the list of winners, and is very honored to have done so.  This is a monument of a race, and has shown that great legs backed by a great team can is a recipe for success.  This result, on the heels of Jonathan's very strong riding with only two teammates at NVGP, one of the hardest stage races on the NRC circuit, goes to show what a hard man JP has become.

Check out some great photos at JSMcElvery.com