29-year-old Jonathan Page is carving an unusual path for himself in cycling. Shunning the growing US...
29-year-old Jonathan Page is carving an unusual path for himself in cycling. Shunning the growing US cyclocross scene, Page lives in Belgium through the winter along with wife Cori and new baby, Emma, and competes in the intense and fiercely competitive European cyclocross circuit. His only concession to US racing is when he makes a mid-season pilgrimage to the United States. Cyclingnews' Steve Medcroft found out a bit more about this cross warrior and how he handles racing the way he does.
During the December 2004 version of that pilgrimage, and for the third year in a row, Page took a solo win in the US National Cyclocross Championships. This year's win, in soggy Portland, Oregon, was the one he says he's most proud of. The past two national championships had seen Page finish a minute or more ahead of the field. In this season's race though, Page felt sluggish and lacked the kind of dominant power he'd come to depend on in domestic races. "I wasn't in top form," he said. It was more than just a down cycle though; he was suffering from severe iron deficiency. The fact that he won showcases his incredible talent for cyclocross.
But Page is not a one-dimensional racer. When his 'cross season ended in January with the 2005 World Championships in St Wendel, Germany (he finished 14th, the highest-placed American), he almost immediately kicked off a road campaign back in the States with the Colavita Cycling Team. "I did the entire road season with the team with the exception of two or three races," he said in September, 2005; just before leaving the States to set up home in Belgium for his 2005/06 campaign. "It was my best road season ever and I think it was because I had a great team."
