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Three months after the 2011 race crash that left him in an induced coma, Brenton Jones was back on a bike.
Three years after that accident, which left his mother wondering if he would live, the 22-year-old Victorian has upstaged a strong field to win the Bay Classic cycling series.
Jones outsprinted Zak Dempster to finish second on Sunday at suburban Williamstown and take the Mitchelton classic by just one point.
His mum Karin, a project manager at Cycling Australia, soon wrapped him in a tearful hug.
Karin had ridden beside him that day in 2011 when Jones tentatively pedalled a mountain bike in the midst of extensive post-accident rehabilitation.
“Everything has happened for a reason and that accident has just made me stronger and got me to where I am today,” Jones said.
“From that day (when he rode again) I thought `this is it, no fear any more, all go, no red lights – all green.'”
Asked about his mum’s finish-line celebrations, Jones added: “She was pretty emotional – I didn’t start crying, yet.
“She was definitely teary and so she should be.”
Jones crashed at the 2011 Tour of Toowoomba and was back competing at the same race only a year later.
He started this classic series as just another ambitious young domestic rider.
Karin and Jones’s girlfriend Lucy Hinchey, who also works at CA in media relations, became increasingly nervous on the sidelines as it became clear Jones could win the title.
Jones did not win any races, but never finished outside the top 10 and started on Sunday one point behind Dempster.
As Ewan won the race in extremely windy conditions, Jones was too fast for Dempster.
Jones revealed a phone call on Saturday night from retired Australian cycling legend Robbie McEwen had helped sharpen his focus.
“He said `be strong, be smart and show your aggression up there – tell everyone you want it and need to be there, you deserve to be there,'” Jones said.
Jones currently rides for top domestic team Avanti, but makes no money from the sport.
He works four nights a week in after-school care and aims to become a full-time professional rider.
“This is just the start,” he said.
Karin said her son had made a major effort to score a big result in the series.
“I know that he’s done a lot this week to prove to others that he has what it takes, but this just caps it off,” she said.
It is light years from when Jones was a child and helping assemble race barricades at the Bay Classic.
“I could show you a photo of myself with my little brother Jarryd and Robbie and Stuey (Stuart O’Grady) – looking quite amazed to be standing with the stars,” he said.
“Maybe I should bring that photo out and tell you how I feel.”
Also on Sunday, Italian star Georgia Bronzini completed her domination of the women’s series.
Bronzini scored her third win at Williamstown for a massive winning margin of 12 points over Australian Annette Edmondson.
She is the first international rider to win a Bay Classic title.
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