"Last year, Milan was fighting for his life" - Merijn Zeeman blown away by recovery of Tour of Guangxi winner Milan Vader
Cycling
Milan Vader helped cap off a special year for Jumbo-Visma in the perfect way on Tuesday in China as he secured overall victory at the Tour of Guangxi.
"Last year, Milan was fighting for his life. A season and a half later, he wins the final classification of a WorldTour race. This is exceptional," said Jumbo-Visma sports director Merijn Zeeman, lauding praise on Vader's recovery from spending 12 days in a medically induced coma following a crash at the 2022 Itzulia Basque Country.
"We gave Milan a chance in our team and started to work with him intensively. His coach, Tim Heemskerk, has been working with him for years to make the transition from mountain biking to road cycling," Zeeman continues. "For him to finish his second season in our team this way is exceptional and completely unexpected. A very nice surprise."
"I always had this scenario in my head after the crash," added Vader. "The doctors said they were already happy that I could get back on the bike. My motivation was to get back to my old level. My first professional wins were a stage win and the final classification here in China: I wanted that for a long time."
In a double celebration on the final stage, Olav Kooij actually took the stage win of the final stage too, fully asserting Jumbo-Visma's dominance. "Unbelievable, this is extraordinary. The goal for the season with Olav was to get ten wins, but he has already got his thirteenth," said Zeeman. "Olav is one of the first riders of our development team. He has developed from a young talent to an international top sprinter. We are very proud of that in the team."
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Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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🇨🇳 #TOG2023 Time for champagne! 🍾 🎥 Iraia Calvo
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