KYLE JONES- Triathlon

Two weeks ago I raced the ITU Pan American Cup in Ixtapa, Mexico. I had a bit of a rough swim, exiting the water further back than I would have liked, but still in the main group. There were 4 of us that worked really well together at the start of the bike and we were able to close the gap to the small lead group within 5k. Packs merged together and It ended up being one big group of about 40 athletes. It was a rolling course with a couple 180's so there were a few attacks, but for the most part the pace was pretty controlled. I stayed near the front the entire ride to stay out of trouble. Coming into transition I was well positioned and started the run in about 6th place. I ran conservatively (due to the heat) for the first 1k but was able to get to the front. Manuel Huerta (USA) and I ran together for 3 laps and opened up a good lead on the rest of the field. At the start of the last lap I made a surge and was able to open up a gap on Huerta. I ran strong for the next 2k and it was enough to get the win. I’m very pleased with how the race played out.

Then, it was off to Asia for 2 more continental cup races. This past weekend was the first one, 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!

One more race next weekend in China and then I’m heading back home to prepare for the Edmonton World Cup in July.

Cheers,
Kyle

www.kylejones.ca <http://www.kylejones.ca>
twitter: @JonesKyle