There’s not a lot she hasn’t done in triathlon. Renowned as one of the sport’s all-time greats, from the day she set her sights on elite and pro racing, Jones was a dominant force in the sport. There were back-to-back ITU World Championships in 1992 and 1993. She took the inaugural XTERRA World Championship in 1996. She topped the ITU World Cup rankings from 1998 through 2000 as the sport built towards its Olympic debut. Then, at the Sydney Olympic Games with all the pressure of being a home-country hero at the opening event, Jones took the silver medal in a dramatic sprint.
When she wasn’t selected for the Australian team in 2004, Jones turned her sights to long-distance racing, and a year later took second in Kona. A year later she followed that up with the win on the Big Island as she became the first Australian woman to win the IRONMAN World Championship.
As she stepped back from professional racing, Jones found a second career as a guide for Para triathlete Katie Kelly, and the pair won the World Paratriathlon Championship in Chicago in 2015. A year later, when triathlon made its debut at the Paralympics in Rio, Kelly and Jones took gold. In 2017, in recognition of her amazing contributions and achievements in the sport, Jones was named a Member of the Order of Australia.
Jones might not be racing as a pro any longer, but her love for the sport continues and she’s here in Nice competing at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in the women’s 55-59 age group – even if her twin sister Gabrielle says it’s not fair because she used to be a pro.
Jones has always been a tech junkie – during her career she was meticulous about her equipment and always pushing to find the fastest gear. Earlier this year she partnered with Van Rysel, and she’s also working with FastTT.
“I’m one lucky athlete,” Jones said during an interview on the beach here in Nice earlier today. “On Saturday I will be racing with a prototype – the Pro R3 from FastTT.”
We’re not sure who got prototype #1
In terms of satisfying Jones’s need for speed, the new bars have a new shape – longer through the arm pad area – which creates less drag, according to the company’s wind tunnel tests.
“The grip is definitely more comfortable – it’s got a bit more width to it, and in these longer races, comfort is everything,” she continued. “I thought I was comfortable on the original FastTTs, but these are outstanding.”
Jones also loves the split pads “just to give you little bit more support so that when you are down in the aerobar position you’ll be more comfortable.”
The new bars are also a lot more stable, Jones said, which is a critical factor for a race like the one here in Nice which features both steep climbs and super-fast, technical descents.
“Hopefully I will do the new bar justice,” Jones said with a laugh, “But if not, I will be comfortable and I’ll know that I’m on the fastest setup.”
Here’s how the rest of Jones’s set up looks for the race this weekend:
Jones is on the Van Rysel RCR-X. She switched out the bento box to put another water bottle on the top tube.She’s got the bike set up with SRAM Red components…… with Ceramic Speed pulleys and 165 mm cranks.There’s a Zipp 454 front wheel paired with a Super 9 disc on the back.
This is not new for my AG since I was in the F45-49 AG (but in F55-59 now). I’ve competed against former pros and even a gold medalist Olympian within my AG. I won’t comment if it’s fair or not since Jones is not breaking any rules. But I do understand the point of veiw of her twin sister.
I remember Dede G. had said something like, she would never race in the AGers because she thought she would be “tarred and feathered”. Dede was a formidable pro even past age 50! But if you still want to compete like Jones at age 55, where do you go? So I can see both sides to the coin here.
And regarding her fast bike, it looks awesome. But having done Nice myself in 2019, I hope it’s a great climber and descends well down that 20 some miles of downhill switchbacks. I wish I had a road bike that year and the pro men’s winner was on a road bike.
Yeah I have been beaten by ex pro triathletes and tour cyclist at big races and I never let it bother me, I think it’s fine for them to race AG.
Dede G showed up at a local half a few years ago in Show Low AZ and raced AG. I caught her on the run and was so excited to see her there! I beat her by only 1min and she won the women overall.
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This is not new for my AG since I was in the F45-49 AG (but in F55-59 now). I’ve competed against former pros and even a gold medalist Olympian within my AG. I won’t comment if it’s fair or not since Jones is not breaking any rules. But I do understand the point of veiw of her twin sister.
I remember Dede G. had said something like, she would never race in the AGers because she thought she would be “tarred and feathered”. Dede was a formidable pro even past age 50! But if you still want to compete like Jones at age 55, where do you go? So I can see both sides to the coin here.
And regarding her fast bike, it looks awesome. But having done Nice myself in 2019, I hope it’s a great climber and descends well down that 20 some miles of downhill switchbacks. I wish I had a road bike that year and the pro men’s winner was on a road bike.
Yeah I have been beaten by ex pro triathletes and tour cyclist at big races and I never let it bother me, I think it’s fine for them to race AG.
Dede G showed up at a local half a few years ago in Show Low AZ and raced AG. I caught her on the run and was so excited to see her there! I beat her by only 1min and she won the women overall.