jason donald

Remember the 1989 Tour de France when after 2,400 miles of racing Greg Lemond took the TT by eight seconds to with the race. Many accredit his win over Lauren Fignon to superior aerodynamics. Some, actually citing that Lauren’s ponytail may have lost him the race. And I know we’ve all see Lance on TV modifying his position in the wind tunnel. Even as a guy who shaves his legs, I’ve always wondered how big of a difference it really makes.

Whew!

My friend Jason Donald, aka The Duck, has started a featured blog on this website. He’s the one with the goofy picture below mine. It’ll be great to follow his progress through the top ranks of cycling. Jason and I started mountain biking together four years ago on Giant’s Rocky Mountain Regional Team. He took 2nd at the Sea Otter Classic his first time as a semi-pro and won Big Bear. From the start, we all new he was going to be kind-of-a-big-deal. The next year he switched to road and tried to talk me into doing the same but I resisted and raced pro the following year.

I caught Jason Donald (team rider for Slipstream) on the phone after he returned from the Tour of California. We talked about the incredible race atmosphere, what it means for the future of American cycling, and the effect his break-out time trial performance has had on him and the rest of the cycling world. This is part one (catch part two tomorrow!):

My buddy and ex-teammate, Jason Donald, surprised everyone today with a second place finish in stage one of the Tour of California. That's right, the Tour of California. Jason, if you're reading this, say it to yourself: The Tour of California.

Well, yesterday I got Jason Donald (team rider for Slipstream) on the phone to talk a little bit about the upcoming Tour of California. We talked about his recent racecapades in the Bahamas and Hawaii before he gave me a rundown of how he's preparing for the big one out west -- including, of course, throwing down some pre-race trash talk for Jonathan Garcia!