Good day,

Well I'm finally back in Victoria and I have a home!

It seems like for the last 3 months that I've been homeless and on the road, basically because I couch surfed for two months (thanks to John, Bill and Day, and Rod), and then I hit the road for track nats, road nats, and finally BC Superweek the last ten days. Looking back on the last month or so I couldn't have imagined it going this well. I knew that I would be riding well but I really have been amazed at how I've been riding.

It really all started with that BC cup win. Going into it, for the first time in training at pac sport, I was told that I had to win it. I normally don't ride with much pressure under me, but the course suited me and so did the timing of the event. Even though I had trained my butt off that week with a few track workouts and hill workouts I still prevailed. Looking back, this has really given me confidence, and another simple reality; I race better when I pretty tired because I don't single-handedly try to initiate winning breaks or spent my whole time attacking. I think this is hilarious, but I'm getting great results because of it. Road nationals were amazing, I found myself in a whittled down group of 15 guys half way through the 180km. Ryder H, of Discovery Channel, was lighting up the climb every time and even when he attacked I was feeling amazing. With 40km to go, it was down to 9 or 10 riders and a huge attack came with Ryder, Svein Tuft, and Dominique Peras (who are all top established pros) and I was just off their wheels but bringing back the small gap. Unfortunately at this point I flatted in the middle of the 3km climb. I had a quick wheel change but it still forfeited me 30 seconds. I chased hard the next lap and came within 40metres of the pack but as I caught them on the climb I could not hold the pace. After riding solo for the next lap I was caught by three other riders and then dropped on the climb. I finished solo for 12th place in senior and 14th overall. I was pretty ecstatic with this result as I was so close to the elusive top 10! *********

This last week I competed in BC Superweek. Tour of Delta kicks the week off. All in all, I felt good in the crit and tested myself by bridging a 10second gap to a break. The move was short-lived but it was encouraging that I had good form. The road race the next day didn't produce a result for me, as I concentrated on the start loops trying to get in an early break. This consumed quite a bit of energy and fried me for later on. Unfortunately the pack wasn't letting anything go and ultimately led to a pack sprint. I should have read this but ever since I have done the race a break has won it. Gastown was definitely a highlight of the week as I got some good front stage action in front the 30,000 person crowd. After getting called up to the starting line, I had the added confidence to do something in this 60km crit. Early on I got in a break with Svein Tuft, Gord Fraser, and a guy from Navigators. If you know these guys they are all pretty accomplished. The highlight of our break was getting a $200 prime because the other three didn't hear it get called. hahaha. Oh well, towards the end I wasn't too hot on 'gettin in there' for the finishing sprint but I got 21st in the end. Tour of White Rock was a huge result for me, especially in consistency. I tied for first overall in the GC omnium, and ended up second in tie breaker. Bascially the overall was calculated in terms of points from stage placings. I placed 7th in the hill climb, 4th in the crit, and 9th in the road race. The crit was pretty cool as five of us lapped the field. It was soooo hard. For those of you who know wattage, we were pulling up the hill (400m) at 480-600 watts each lap, and for a 155lb guy that's pretty hard for 45km. Anyway, they pulled the field with 3 to go and let the five of us race it out. I blew my chance by making a attack for the crowd prime (two to go) which was for 500 bucks. So when we went to sprint for the finish I was done. In the road race, I was so tired and thought I was going to get dropped on the first climb but I suffered my butt off and conserved as much as I could. I was really proud of how I rode and I even placed myself well for the sprint having a few people come around me. I placed 9th in the end. My body is pretty wrecked right now, so I'm looking forward to a much deserved 3 hours of massage and 2 hours of chiro, I should be good to go for BC track provinicials on Aug 19-21.

Take care

Derek McMaster

ps If you know any pro teams that want a 23 year old cyclist from Moose Jaw, Sask, let me know.