How did you make the move from mountain bikes to road and cyclocross?
JP: After I got mono, it took me awhile to get back to where I was at, and Devo had lost some of its sponsorship dollars at the same time. So I started racing for the Northampton Cycling Club in Northampton, Massachusetts, and that was mostly road-focused, so it just kind of happened. I actually stole my teammate, Andy Guptill’s, category 3 sticker, even though I was a 4 on the road and made my way to a category 2 by the end of the season. Jelly Belly came about because I was doing a local cyclocross race, and Kirk Albers, who was the team captain of Jelly Belly, saw me pulling around guys like Mark McCormick and other road pros and had Danny Van Haute sign me up. My first year with Jelly Belly was a huge learning experience for me. I got to learn from guys like Kirk, Jonas Carney and Alex Candelario. That year, I also placed second in U-23 Cyclocross National Championships, and I have been rolling ever since. RBA: How is the Jelly Belly team? JP: I couldn’t ask for a cooler group of g
