Video: Zandstra among best North American World Cup riders

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Derek Zandstra (3 Rox Racing) has been racing as one of the top North American men on the UCI World Cup circuit this season. After three rounds, he's ranked in 25th, the second North American after Todd Wells of the USA.

At round one in Pietermaritzburg, Zandstra finished 34th, 7:28 behind winner Nino Schurter despite a big crash. Next in Dalby, he was the top Canadian in 27th, 6:00 behind winner Jaroslav Kulhavy, and at the most recent round in Offenburg, he finished 26th at 4:56 behind winner Julien Absalon.

Offenburg was Zandstra's best-ever European World Cup finish, and he was also the top placing North American at the German round. He managed that despite a flat on the first lap that required a stop in the tech zone.

Now, the Canadian will get a rest from racing on the international circuit, during this month-long break between World Cups.

"I have most of June off, and I'm looking forward to building my fitness more with some base miles," he said to Cyclingnews. On Sunday, he won the Canada Cup round in Hardwood Hills, Ontario.

Following his break, he'll be back in action at his home World Cup in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec, on July 2-3 and the next weekend's World Cup in Windham, New York.

Next up after that is Canadian Nationals, but he is still undecided about the Olympic test event in London at the end of July.

"I may do the Olympic Test race, but it would be a lot of travel," he said. "If I did that, I'd probably skip the World Cup (in Czech) after that."

Zandstra got his season off to a good start with a training camp in South Carolina followed by eighth at the US Pro XCT opener in Fontana. He also raced to eighth the Pan Am Championships in Colombia.