"It is not much different from China so I'll try to do the same trick" - Milan Vader is confident ahead of Tour Down Under

Milan Vader will be on the leader duty for Visma | Lease a Bike at Australian Tour Down Under, which the Dutchman is obviously looking forward to. In de Leiderstrui spoke with the former mountain biker as the final preparations towards the season opener are concluding.

Back in October of last year, in exotic China, the 27-year-old won the final World Tour race of the year, the Tour of Guangxi. "The fact that it was at WorldTour level gives it an extra meaning. I think there are fifteen WorldTour races in one year, won by eight different riders. I'm one of them, so that's really cool," says Vader.

"It was great to end the recovery process after the accident like this, above all," he says about the victory in the Tour of Guangxi. "In that sense it is the icing on the cake, but it also feels like a bit of pressure has been lifted from my shoulders. Pressure that I have imposed on myself to get back to my old level and preferably even a little better. I'm very happy with that."

Now he'll try to give it his best in Australia. "I'm going as leader. Basically, it is not much different from China in terms of racing, with short stages and fierce, explosive arrivals. That's something that normally suits me, so I'll try to do the same trick."