Wednesday, 08 September 2010
WHAKATANE cyclist Carl Jones had a disappointing 39th place finish at the Moutainbike World Championships in Canada on Sunday.
Jones’ coach Evan McRae said it had been a disappointing result as Jones had aimed for a top-20 finish.
Jones struck trouble early in the race when he came across carnage on the track, due to a crash.
He became tangled in the mayhem and it cost him a lot of time. He found himself in 54th place and put in a massive effort to make up the places.
Jones was clocking lap times on par with the top 30 riders and surged up field. At the end of the race he was 14 minutes behind the leaders and just a minute behind New Zealand teammate Dirk Peters.
It was a frustrating result for Jones as he watched riders finish ahead of him that he had beaten in previous weeks at races in Canada and the United States.
The event ended a five-month trip overseas and he returns this week to take a couple of weeks off.
Jones and the rest of the national squad will begin their buildup for the New Zealand cross-country season this summer and switch his focus on achieving his aim for 2011 – to take out the New Zealand pro elite title.