"I hope the girls like how I work" - Jos van Emden completes first race as Sports Director at Tour Down Under

Although Team Visma | Lease a Bike weren't able to take a stage win or compete for overall victory at the Tour Down Under, the race will forever be remembered by Jos van Emden as his first, in his new role.

"We are happy with these results," the multiple-time former Dutch time-trial champion reflected to Team Visma | Lease a Bike's official website post-race. "In my opinion, we could have done even better. With a little more careful racing, we could have finished in the top ten. Nevertheless, we are very proud of the girls. We were racing with a very young team, and they proved themselves and showed that there was still room for improvement.”

Whilst Sarah Gigante fired to overall victory on the final climb up Willunga Hill, Team Visma | Lease a Bike's top finisher in the general classification was Maud Oudeman in 12th. Away from the on bike results however, van Emden hopes he made a good impression in his new role.

"I enjoyed it. The race was full of good moments. Rutger Tijssen did a great job guiding me and trying to teach me a few things. I hope the girls like how I work, but I am confident. I loved coming to Australia as a pro, so it's cool to start my career as a sports director here," he concludes. "A good working method starts with having fun, and the team and I certainly had that. Now it's a matter of continuing to develop."