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Zak Dempster

Age/DOB:
22, 27th of September 1987
Racing weight?
78kg
Describe yourself as a rider in one sentence:
Sort of like in between Jose Rujano and Magnus Backstedt.
Your best moment in cycling?
It's hard to go past Bendigo Madison, however it's one moment that's probably insignificant in terms of my palmares but it was bloody cool and it makes me smile. I took Petacchi's wheel from an extremely angry South African Tour stage winner in the Tour of Britain in 2008, it was about 1km to go and I thought if I could get that wheel, I'd run second (usually a safe bet) - anyway I got the wheel and ran 6th right behind Petacchi, I thought this Springbok was actually going to murder me after the finish…
Worst moment in cycling?
GP Internacional CTT Correios de Portugal last year, I ran 6th on the first stage; I felt like I was really coming back to my best after some health issues. After the stage we received an email basically blackmailing us out of our contracts and saying the team will stop. I didn't sleep that night; the next day I was out the arse with 100km to go, dropped from groupetto soon after, solo for the last 50km - I didn't cope at all. I had so many doubts in myself, my confidence was shot. The decisions I had made to ride with that team were incorrect in hindsight however; if, buts and maybe's count for precisely nothing in life. I was reminded of this by my friends and family and I'm glad I'm still on my bike because it could have easily ended right then and there.
Favourite race you've ridden?
The World's are hard to go past, I did Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne last year and the spring races in Belgium are something I'm extremely motivated by, so I'd like to one day be a contender in those…
Who would play you in a movie of your life?
Morgan Freeman. Probably.
Cycling hopes for 2010?
Win some races! But mainly, I'd like to be really strong at the first training camp…
Favourite music album?
Paul Dempsey; Everything is True
Favourite film?
V for Vendetta
How do you relax?
On the couch, eating kangaroo, drinking Fosters, watching the cricket… etcetera, etcetera.
I am a cyclist because…
I'm fiercely competitive.
If I weren't a cyclist I'd be…
More energetic.
How would you like to be remembered?
Fondly.
An interesting fact people are unlikely to know about you?
Tom Southam actually contracts me to write his blogs for him.

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