Jones impresses on National stage

TORQUAY’S Otis Jones has returned home with invaluable experience after impressing at the National Road Championships in Perth.

The 18-year-old raced in the Under-23 Individual Time Trial and Road Race events and held his own as a bottom-ager.

The Time Trial event consisted of a 29.3km loop, with Jones finishing 18th, whilst the Road Race was a scenic 135km trail through Kings Park and the Perth CBD in which he finished 20th of 89 riders.

Jones said that his trip to Perth was great experience and opportunity to test his ability against the best young cyclers in the country.

“It’s pretty special to have that one race a year that meets in Perth and all the best riders in the country come and battle each other for the National title.

“The competition is very tough and it gets harder and faster every year as riders develop and battle for spots on development teams.”

In his first year as an under-23 rider, Jones took plenty out of the weekend that will put him in good stead as he progresses in his career.

“Personally, as a rider I leant that I have the strength and what it takes to compete with the best.

“The lead in I had for the race wasn’t what I was hoping for, but I still showed up and could give it a crack.

“The moment that stood out to me the most was up the climb (in the Road Race) where I thought the heat would get to me and I was going to cramp and potentially get overtaken, but I felt very strong up the climbs and was able to overtake riders every lap.”

This year looms as a big one for Jones as he takes plenty of momentum from a strong start in Perth.

“I’m heading to Italy at the end of March to race the European season for Zappi Racing team, a development team based in the heart of Italy,” he said.

“Racing a top-tier National event in Australia was a real confident booster and helped me set some big goals for overseas.”