Back over to Chicago again! This place is starting to feel like my 2nd home after spending so much time there for Superweek.
The sinus problems had not yet cleared and it managed to fall down onto my chest, which is not a very nice feeling. After feeling very average all week and knowing it wasn't getting better I had to go onto antibiotics on the Wednesday for a 5 day course. I know my body does not respond well to antibiotics, so I went to Chicago feeling already defeated. 
The US Pro Championships are so important for the American's that I knew it was a weekend of hard work on the front, which I don't mind cause most of the guys have done an awesome job for me all year round. We had Evan, Chad and Tim from the America and Cody and I from the Australia.
Game plan:
Tim for both days was trying to find himself in a small breakaway and to gain good exposure for himself and the team, not to mention stay away and win the race! Chad and Evan are both very handy sprinters which is reassuring if you're going to do a lead out. Tim rode very strong and smart for both days and I don't think he missed any break that was looking dangerous, so good job mate. Evan and Chad were sitting comfortable on both days as we knew there was a big chance of it coming down to a bunch sprint. The course was extremely fast and technical. We all knew that if you were going to finish top 5, then you would have to be through the last 2 corners right at the front. I was leading Cody out for the Pro-Am race on Sat and he was taking Evan. This race was way too hard and fast for any mistakes! We managed to get organised with 5 laps to go but through the last corner, Cody got caught out behind a move that pushed him wide through the corner and lost my wheel. He shouted out when this happened and I knew I had to race for the line myself. Thankfully I had a little left in the tank to hold onto 3rd.

The Pro's only race on Sunday was on the same course but it was 100km instead of 50km. We were going into the race with the same game plan, Chad or Evan to win the sprint. Again this race was very technical and fast. Because we only had 5 guys there and the other bigger teams had 8 or 10, we expected them to control it and do a lead out with 10 to go, but this didn't happen. Everybody was jostling for positions and fighting for wheels which made it even harder to create a lead out. Evan was the only one feeling good for the sprint, so I concentrated on leading him out and taking him through to the last corners first. With one to go we were sitting very pretty and he was stuck to my wheel like glue! We were placed about 7th and 8th going down the back straight which was perfect and we were heading into the second last corner when someone crashed in front of both of us. I slipped on the inside but Evan got caught up in it and had to jam on his brakes, otherwise he would have crashed as well. There was only 200m to go when this happened, so again I had to try and salvage a top ten for the team. Well 7th and 13th is where we ended up for the day. Not what we wanted but that's life. 

What's nect:
2 weeks maintaining the form, then over to Michigan for the Priority criterium. This will be my second last rostered team race before I head home to Australia. Just for all you at home, it looks like I will be heading out on the 6th of October.

Till next time.....
Jonny  

After spending very little time in the saddle this week from the amount of racing I have done in the last month, this week was a week to recover! I also suffered severely with sinus problems, due to the pollens in the air and the amount of travel I am doing in the air!

So I was a little unsure if I should line up in a local race called ''Ladera Ranch criterium" but I did. It was a 90 minute crit and the course was somewhat technical. I managed to make some moves early on to test the legs and a small group of 6 went up the road, which inlcuded me. 25 minutes to go we lapped the field and I had 2 of my team mates from Jittery Joe's there (Neil Shirley & Cody Stevenson). As soon as I gained a lap, the guys went straight to the front and controlled the race perfectly. Considering we still had 25 laps to go, I was a little nervous! This was mainly due to the fact that I wasn't feeling that great and to my surprise, 2 riders from the Italian National Team had shown up to race against us! These 2 riders were flying out to Beijing the next morning to compete in the Olympic madison together, so I knew they would be riding strong. One lap to go, they tried to step up against the JJ's train but they didn't have much of a chance (in my books). So Neil through the corner first, then Cody for the lead out we were looking very fast. The Italian came up beside me just before the finsh line but I managed to stretch out and take another win for the season. Thanks once again Neil and Cody for the awesome job!!!!!

Next stop US PRO CRIT CHAMPIONSHIPS "Downers Grove". 

The good news is that the legs felt great! The bad news is that I crashed in Charlotte . Thankfully I didn't take any skin off and the bike is in one piece. This 80km race was flat out from the gun. With this much money on the line everybody had their race wheels in. Unfortunately this was not a good day for the Jittery Joe's boys. We some what missed the break and I got caught in a crash with one lap to go. This is a big part of racing! So the teams morale was a little down and we all needed to have a BIG dig at Hanes Park, which is another NRC race.

The criterium circuit at Hanes Park was undulating with fast, flowing corners. Attacks were going off the front every second of the race, but the pace was too fast. With around 7 laps to go the JJ's boys were sitting right at the front waiting to lead me or Cody out for the sprint. I was moving up through the bunch behind Kirk O'bee (Health Net) who is the National Criterium Champion, and was hoping he would drop me off behind my team. But he had other idea's! He launched an attack with 5 laps to go and I followed his wheel. We got joined by Ted King  (Bissel) and we got a 20 second gap straight away. The 3 of us swapped off hard and with 3 laps to go we knew we were in good shape. Kirk, to my surprise got dropped and it was just the 2 of us left. King being the strong man of the bunch really had me in the red zone, but we managed to hold the bunch off by 5 seconds. Very unusual move from me, but this time it paid off and it feels good to utilise my other strengths rather than just leave it up to my sprint. My 2nd place finished the weekend off well and the team is happy  

Hello all, I hope everyone is doing well and cheers for all the support from superweek.

I headed home to California early Monday morning, which was the day after Superweek! I have no idea why I booked my return ticket for a departure time of 7am. Not a good idea when I got to bed at 2am! The day started of very rocky, not to mention my pounding head. We had booked a shuttle to pick Alana, Ryan and myself up at 5.30am so we could get to the airport around 5.45am. No breaky and no coffee in the system, the phone rang at 5.26am. The shuttle company regrets to inform you that they do not have a van available to pick us up, but we can send a car! Some how I don't think 3 people, 4 bags and a bike box will fit into a car! So by now I was furious and I might leave the next sentence out. They gave me another shuttle companies number, which I thought my chances of them even answering the phone at this hour was a long shot, but I was in luck. A shuttle will be there in 15 minutes they said. So I started doing the calculations! Its now 5.40am and the plane leaves at 7.05am, and the shuttle will be here at 5.55am with a 15 minute drive to the airport! This is not a good start to the day!!!!!!!!! Cabbie finally arrives and he knows its time to feed it some gas. We get to the airport at 6.30am and we had to run for the door. Yes we made it! 

3 days to recover before I head to Charlotte for a $50,000 criterium on Saturday and Hanes Park on Sunday. The legs will either feel awesome or the complete opposite! So fingers cross its awesome and I can take home some money. 

More photo's of Superweek victory!