A Minute With... Jon Mozley

• Thursday, 19 February 2009
• Adam Tranter
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Jon Mozley has been racing a bike for longer than most, and he’s still only 21. The Pearl Izumi / Planet X / High 5 rider talks to Adam Tranter about a difficult 2008 season,

You’ve been racing since you were four years old — how did you get into it?
My dad and his mates did a cyclo-cross race and I remember making my own little circuit in the woods that day. I thought, “Yeah I could do this”, so the next week I was on the start line of the under-12 race.

What do you think of UK racing, compared to your experiences in Belgium?
Over the past few years, the level of UK racing has improved greatly, and there’s a good mix of racing too. You have mega-fast aggressive racing in the elite criteriums, and also the tough roads of Premier Calendars. The races are just as hard as each other but in different ways. There are just more people in Belgium that are capable of winning, so the speed is a little bit faster.

What’s your best career result?
I think my third place in the first round of the Elite Criterium Series at Hillingdon. I was riding with a shattered right elbow and ligament damage in my left hand.

How do you think this season went?
It started well and ended well, but all in all it was an average season. After the work I’d put in I’d expected a lot more. If I had to change anything it’d definitely be my crash in the Chas Messenger in May where I broke my elbow. It took me a long time to get back to my best after that.

How did you cope with your injury psychologically?
I took it pretty well at first; I had my mate Ben Swift keeping me motivated and getting me on the turbo. My coach and friend Cherie Pridham also helped and they have both had to deal with injuries in the past. I went into a bubble where I ignored any negativity and just
concentrated on getting back racing as soon as possible, even if I wasn’t 100 per cent.

Where do you think your career will go in the next three years?
In three years’ time I hope to be on a good pro team in America or even in Europe. I quite like the look of the American racing scene; I think it would suit me.

What’s your ultimate goal?
My ultimate goal would be to make a healthy living out of cycling professionally, whether that’s by winning races or being a good domestique.

What will your winter training consist of, considering you’ve got Eddie Soens early on in the season?
I’m a mileage monster in the winter, I believe in a rest then starting from scratch with a good base. I won’t need to worry about speed too much this winter as I’ll be doing some more track racing to take care of that.

How do you spend your free time?
By spending as much time as I can with my girlfriend, Sarah. It’s a two-hour ride to her house, so I’m still training. Other than that I like a good game of golf.

What’s on your iPod at the moment?
The last thing I listened to was Now 71.