Jason McCartney, cyclist

By Dave Mable

 

Jason McCartney of Coralville lives the dream life of a professional cyclist, or rather that which might be compared to that of the life of a dog — sled dog, to be exact.
Sled dogs are amazing athletes but are expected to work hard day in and day out for their master. A dog might be pulling at the harness, nose stuck behind the butt of the dog in front, for hours, covering 25 miles of trail by lunch, only to be expected to do the same thing in the afternoon. Mile after mile. Up hills and down. Pulling at the harness. Hours on end.

Sounds torturous, but hey love it. If you’ve never seen a sled dog pop up from a deep sleep at the jingle of the harness, you should. Ears are up, tail wagging, barking, pawing at the harness until they are clipped into the gangline and on the trail. The excitement in their eyes and voices when they are harnessed for a run or a race clearly illustrates this deep seated genetic drive to pull that defines modern sled dogs of the north.

Life as a professional cyclist is not too much different. Bikes are traded for harnesses, and roads are substituted for trails. But life on the road is tough — and they love it.
Most of us will mark the day of a century (100 mile) ride with months of preparation and training, followed by a well-planned-out day with rest stops and support. The completion of the ride is cause for celebration, marked with a patch, souvenir photo and special jersey. As a professional cyclist, you are expected to grind out 100-plus-mile days, day after day, working for the benefit for your leader. Rarely even stopping for a pee, working cyclists are there for the benefit of their team leader, fetching them water from the team vehicle, pulling them to the pack after a flat tire, even offering him or her their bike after a crash, left to chase back to the pack alone. And loving it. They must. It’s too hard.

McCartney has found himself as a faithful lieutenant of one of the greatest cyclists, if not athletes, of all time — Lance Armstrong.
Growing up in Iowa City, McCartney was working at a shoe store owned by avid cyclist and weekend racer Ken Leffler. Working on a Saturday in downtown Burlington in late May, McCartney watched as racers from around the Midwest competed in the Snake Alley Criterium, racing up the most crooked street in the world. The excitement that welled up inside him was no different than that of a sled dog hearing the jingle of the harness. He was hooked.
Racing as a junior, McCartney saw much success, winning state championship races and large races throughout the Midwest, including the famed Snake Alley.

After high school, McCartney took some time off the bike, completing a semester-long National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS).
McCartney returned to bicycle racing in 1998 with newfound interest and enthusiasm, and quickly rose to national prominence. In 2004 McCartney had his big break. Riding on the U.S.-based Health Net team, McCartney rode very well in one of the largest pro-am races in the country, the Tour of Georgia. McCartney won a mountainous stage and finished with the “King of the Mountains” designation, earning the attention of the Armstrong-led Discovery Cycling Team.
In 2005 McCartney joined Armstrong and continued to develop his climbing talents, again winning the 2006 Tour of Georgia “King of the Mountains” title. In 2007, still on the Discovery Cycling Team, McCartney became only the third American to win a stage of the weeks-long Tour of Spain (Vuelta a España), one of the world’s three “Grand Tours.”

With the retirement of Armstrong, the Discovery Team soon disbanded, leaving McCartney looking for a new team. He landed on another of the world’s strongest teams, CSC, continuing his strong climbing while working for new team leaders, Carlos Sastre, Ivan Basso and Andy Schleck.
Now on the powerful Radio Shack Cycling Team, McCartney finds himself a key dog in Armstrong’s quest for an eigth Tour De France victory. While the Tour De France is not a race McCartney has been a part of, 2010 could be the year he graduates from the tours of California, Italy and Spain to compete in the granddaddy of them all — the Tour De France

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