Page in search of support

By Brecht Decaluwé in Diegem

It has been a tumultuous season so far for Jonathan Page. The American cyclo-cross professional pulled off a career highlight in Hooglede-Gits in January 2007, when he finished as runner-up at the World Championships behind Erwin Vervecken. As a consequence Page received a good two-year deal with a professional Belgian team Sunweb-Projob, realizing his long chased dream.

Nevertheless, this season things haven't gone smoothly. Page got into an argument with his team manager Jurgen Mettepenningen. Feeling the mental weight and bother of the team's pressure on him, Page and Mettepenningen came to an agreement to shorten Page's term at the Belgian team so his contract will end on February 28.

Out from under the pressure, Page's results have recently improved with second place in Middelkerke the highlight of his season so far. With the World Championships at Treviso coming up in less than one month it seems that Page will be ready right in time.

"Many people say, 'He's had it.' Now I want to make some people shut their mouth and prove they're wrong," Page said to Cyclingnews.

The runner-up at the US National Championships behind Tim Johnson is in search of support for next season. "Support is the right word, because that's what I lacked this year. Whether it's a team or individual sponsorship isn't so important; it is important that I feel good in the situation. I don't know whom to trust anymore, so right now I can only trust myself and get results. Hopefully the rest will follow," Page said.

At the Superprestige Round #6 in Diegem Sunday, Page finished tenth, near the back of the main group chasing winner Sven Nys.