Hello everyone!

I have been a bit slack with my updates lately and i do apologise for not keeping everyone updated as frequently as i would like. For some reason it’s really hard to sit inside at a computer when you’re living in boulder, Colorado and at the base of the Rocky Mountains 

So it’s been 7 WEEKS since i left home now and i have been in boulder, CO for 6 weeks. I’m finally getting the hang of the place and finding my way around much easier without getting as lost as easy as before. Still, i have an amazing talent to still turn easy little trips into MISSIONS as i take a wrong turn here or there and before I know it...I'm lost!

I’ve been able to get some killer training done while I’ve been here and the weather has finally let up and summer is well and truly on the cards! Sunny hot days are on the menu most days and everything is bursting with colour and greenery and the whole place has a wicked vibe and feeling at the moment that you can’t help but get excited about.

May has been pretty quiet on the racing front, with no big races for me but a few local races around boulder keeping me interested and sharp. I've been hitting up a few road races and crits and man they have been SUPER hard! My lack of roadie expertise and red head A.D.D makes for a good hard hit out but unfortunately, not the best result! A couple of weekends ago i raced the 'Morgul Superior Classic' 2 day road race. Saturday was a crit and Sunday was the road race. The crit was pretty cool as it weaved through a couple of back streets around some houses and had some cool fast corners that if you hit fast enough, you could use the gutters as berms. It definitely freaked some of the roadies out and was an easy way to gain a few bike lengths without much effort! 

A breakaway of 8 got away and our bunch was controlled by their team mates, so i rolled in with the bunch in 17th. The road race the next day was BRUTAL to say the least! It was 6 laps of a 13.3mile course and headed up a climb called 'the wall', a 1.5mile climb that was 12% gradient, 7 times....i had full intentions to snivel for this race like i had never snivelled before!!  (Pretty much because i had actually never snivelled in a bunch before)

So the plan was going well and i wasn’t doing too much work and feeling good. Then the wheels started to fall off my little red wagon..After the 4th time up the wall, i got dropped over the top when they attacked and was now WELL off the back of the bunch. Race over i thought! So i settled in to a solid pace with another guy and before i knew it, we were nearly back on to the bunch! YIEEEW! So i stepped into it and got back onto the bunch and settled in for another lap. Lap 5 up the wall, same thing..Dropped even bigger again! This time, i was by myself so i was sure my race was over. It was about 2hrs 40min into the race and once again i settled into a good pace and ate some food to ride home by myself. AGAIN, i rode back onto the bunch, but this time i was STOMPING!! I got a second wind and i took full advantage of it. I drove the front of the bunch all the way for the rest of the lap, then big ringed the wall and to my surprise i rode off the front of the bunch and dropped the rest of the field. With another break up the road i held it on and started chasing.

About 5km later the bunch caught up with me, but i still felt good so i stepped into it again and brought back, by myself, the masters bunch up the road and a 3 man breakaway that was behind the leaders of our pro field. As we headed to the final hilltop finish up the wall, i just popped at the bottom and rode in behind the main field in 28th. I was pretty happy with this race and stoked to just finish with the main group!  3hrs30mins, 130km, 2000m climbing..great day in the office!

The weekend before that i had an awesome weekend on the dirt with a couple of mates over here, up in Wyoming. Some killer trails and a low key cruisy xc race over 3 laps of a 12ish km course. I ended up winning this race by  nearly 5mins and felt great on the mtn bike!

This weekend just gone i raced another xc race up in Vail, CO. The Teva Mountain Games. An event held up in the wicked snow region of Colorado with some EPIC scenery and some serious elevation. The race started at approx. 2600ish metres and climbed up to just under 3000m each lap! 4 laps were on the cards and it was about 23 or so minutes a lap. There was still a fair bit of snow around on most of the mountains and some of the event village had HUGE snow pieces hanging around. we were lucky to have dry conditions and come race time it ended up pretty hot which made it that much tougher.

I started well but as soon as we hit the climbs, the boys pushed the pace and i rode quickly backwards as i gasped for air and wished the D's would hurry up! i settled into a rhythm and tried not to push too hard on the climbs and make it up on the flats and downhill sections. This kind of worked and i consistently passed a heap of people each lap and rode back into 17th. About 12mins off the leader over the 1hr 37min race. Bit disappointed with my result but it was a massive eye opener to racing at REAL Altitude!

Once i recovered from that and drank a THOWSAND water bottles and endura drinks, we chilled out in the village and watched the dog jumping! the most popular event there by far!who would've thought watching dogs jump to grab a plastic hot dog, then splash into a huge pool would be so entertaining!

So now it’s pretty much GO TIME! i have a heap of big races coming up and i cannot wait to get amongst it! Next Tuesday, I’ll fly to bend, OREGON for a local fun invitational race with Adam Craig and a whole bunch of pros to race for prizes that include the longest wheelie, biggest air, longest air, fastest road section and race winner..sounds like a race too good to be true huh? then after that head down to Ashland for the 12mile super D race on June 18 and chainless challenge the day before. The weekend after that is the Subaru cup Pro XCT race in Wisconsin, June 25/26, then off to Canada for a round of the mountain bike world cup on july2nd. The final stop will be in California for the weekend of July 9/10. That will be the Downieville Classic which is the All mountain World Champs. I was fortunate enough to get a Pro entry from the GIANT Factory team over here and i am really looking forward to this event!

So definitely a whirlwind next few weeks and some exciting times ahead. I do apologise for the long report this time, but that is 6 weeks’ worth right there. Ill upload some videos and photos to facebook tonight also from the past few weekends so be sure to check them out and you might have a bit of a giggle.

I hope all is good at home guys and i look forward to chatting to you guys soon.

I’d like to send a massive thank you out to GIANT Bicycles for helping me out with an entry into downieville, SHIMANO USA and SHIMANO Australia for helping me out with parts and accessories over here which has been extremely helpful. Ben from KENDA Tyres for tyre support. Also massive thanks to Dwight, my team manager from ROCKSTAR Racing for organising some support and sending bits n pieces over to me and Mark Fenner, my coach, from www.ftptraining.com for dialing my training and getting me ready for these upcoming races.

Thanks for your support from home too guys! it great to hear and definitely provides me with extra motivation to get amongst it.

Luv ur work!

JC.

In the men's competition Australia, with a total of 2685 points, is 101 points ahead of France (2584) and the USA is sitting third on 2458 points. In the women's rankings Australia's tally of 2865 points is 247 more than the USA's total of 2618 with France almost 600 points back in third with 2045 points.

In the individual rider rankings there was more good news for the Australians as they prepare for the UCI BMX World Championships being staged in Copenhagen, Denmark from 27 to 31 July.

2009 Supercross series champion and two time junior world champion, Sam Willoughby, remains ranked second in the world on 938 points, just 20 points behind New Zealand's Marc Willers who took over the top spot after victory in the recent round of the Supercross World Cup Series in Papendal, Holland. South Australian Brian Kirkham (732 points) has moved up from seventh to fourth in the rankings due to making the final in Papendal whilst Khalen Young is the next best Australian with 495 points to be ranked thirteenth.

Australia has two other men in the elite top 25 with Luke Madill ranked 20th (402 points) and Josh Callan 25th (307 points).

2011 Australian champion Caroline Buchanan posted a third place finish in Papendal to maintain third place on the rankings with 876 points. Her team mate Lauren Reynolds is ranked fourth with 776 points. Rachel Bracken rounds out the top ten ranked women in the world with 561 points. Colombian Mariana Pajon leads the women's table on 968 points, 73 points ahead of Sarah Walker (NZL) who is sitting second.

West Australian Darryn Goodwin tops the junior rankings with 425 points, more than 100 points clear of his nearest rival. Queensland's Melinda McLeod is the second ranked junior woman with 435 points behind American Brooke Cain who has 610 points.

The Australians are motivated to maintain their nation ranking as this will determine the number Australian riders we qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The BMX High Performance program and the sport received a welcome boost on the weekend with the opening of a $4.8 million BMX track at the Sleeman Sports Complex in Brisbane.

The Australian team will use the track to prepare for the upcoming World Championships.

The track was officially opened by Sport Minister Phil Reeves, State Member for Chatsworth Steve Kilburn and BMX Australia President Barry Knight. Mr Reeves says the state of the art facilities offer riders of all levels a chance to experience a track of Olympic standard.

"This BMX track is an Australian first and is great for fans and riders alike," he said. "There are currently 32 BMX clubs across Queensland and the popularity of this sport continues to grow.

"The Bligh Government's investment of $4.8 million is a ripper for riders, and with London 2012 just around the corner it will be put to very good use as elite training squads prepare for the Games.

"Queensland will be the training ground for many Olympians and this is also great for grass-roots BMX and the local economy."

State Member for Chatsworth Steve Kilburn says Sleeman Sports Complex remains a cutting-edge training venue.

"The Bligh Government is currently investing $15.3 million to install a new pool, a water-based jumps facility for aerial skiers and this new BMX track, to ensure Sleeman remains a world-class sporting complex," said Mr Kilburn. "Along with Sleeman's other facilities (pool, gymnasium, catering and accommodation), this Complex is perfect for squad training and the feedback from the BMX community and elite training groups is they can't wait to give the track a good workout."

BMX Australia President Barry Knight says this is another step forward for BMX in Australia.

"The building of a Supercross BMX track in Australia is a wonderful facility to support the growing number of club and elite riders participating in the sport. We currently have more than 7,000 registered BMX riders and this number is growing all the time.

"Having access to a facility like this will improve riders skill levels, fitness and make them more competitive on the international stage," said Mr Knight. "Coming off the first ever BMX Olympic event at the 2008 Olympic Games, this track will be of exceptional benefit to our Olympic hopefuls for London 2012, giving our riders the chance to train on a world class track."

Quick facts

• $4.8 million Bligh Government investment for the BMX facility
• The track features two start ramps (5m and 8m with an 18/28° sloping angle) with major double-jumps, step ups and a technical 'rhythm section, and riders will hit speeds of up to 60km/h around the 400 metre tracks
• More than 330 registered riders aged from 8 years of age to 45+ from as a far afield as New Zealand, Tamworth, Victoria and regional Queensland competed over the weekend in the opening event
• The popularity of cycling in general continues to grow and the following for BMX (in terms of numbers) in Australia is second only to the United States
• More than 840,000 people use Sleeman every year, and the complex has onsite accommodation for training camps and a number of other facilities (gym, aquatic centre) which could be utilised when riders are not tackling the new track
  Sleeman currently undergoing $17.3 million upgrade– the largest since it was established for the 1982 Commonwealth Games – to install a new pool, BMX track and another Australian first, a water-based jumps facility for aerial skiers
• The new facilities have been developed in consultation with design experts
• from the UCI