Local rider Holden Jones has secured himself a place on the world stage of cycling, earning a bronze medal in an international competition.
The 16-year-old placed third in the under-19 category of the UCI World Cross Country Mountain Bike Championships in Cairns, Australia.
Jones was only 44 seconds behind the Australian Cameron Wright, who took gold with a time of one hour, seven minutes and 56 seconds. Joel Roth of Switzerland nabbed silver.
It’s not a small feat, considering Jones was matched against 71 other racers from about 40 countries.
His accomplishment earned him a mention in national news stories posted by The Canadian Press and CBC.
“Getting a medal at Worlds was unbelievable,” Jones told The Chief in an email. “Crossing the finish line was one of the best feelings I’ve ever had, and I’ve been on cloud nine ever since! It’s not often that everything falls into place on race day, and I couldn’t be happier that it did for the biggest race of my life.”
Jones weaved between second and third position before ultimately finishing with a bronze medal. The race spanned one hour and took five laps to complete.
“After one lap of the race, I was sitting in third with a group of guys, and I finally realized that I had a good chance for a medal,” he said. “After that lap I figured it was all or nothing, and all of my focus went into staying with the group."
“I stuck with it until it was just me and Joel Roth (Switzerland), the eventual silver medalist,” Jones continued. “Realizing that I was going to be fighting for a step on the podium was an amazing feeling.”
Earlier, in a separate group event, Jones rode as one of Canada’s relay racers, helping his four teammates earn 10th place.
“Holden has that ability of an athlete, and being an all-round great person, he can achieve anything that he wants to,” said Mike Charuk, coach at Team Squamish.
Charuk said that a lot of the team’s success can be credited to a year-round program.
The preparations to get racers in shape can be gruelling.
For example, Charuk initiated a trip to Tucson, Arizona, where they trained by cycling on the road for 600 kilometres in January.
“We’re just plugging kids into the blueprint,” he said.
And it’s a blueprint that seems to have brought strong results.
Charuk said it was the fourth year in a row Team Squamish members represented Team Canada.
As for the future, he believes Jones could be a contender at the 2024 Olympics.
“Holden has what it takes to win a gold medal at the Olympics,” he said.
Charuk added with a chuckle that he thought Jones was a “greasy rider.”
