Milan Vader finds a new home at Q36.5, next to fellow mountain biker Tom Pidcock: "I have the quality, but I could not use it at Visma | Lease a Bike"

Milan Vader found his new home at Q36.5 Pro Cycling. The ex-mountain biker spent past three season learning the ropes with at Team Visma | Lease a Bike, but eventually realized that in order to find his own place in the peloton, he needed to spread the wings and try to become a leader elsewhere. The 29-year-old is optimistic he has found just that in the Swiss ProTeam.

"We quickly agreed that I do have a quality, but that I could not use it at Visma | Lease a Bike. We both thought that was a shame and so it was better to go somewhere else," he says in the Alpecin Barbershop of WielerFlits.

"I am really positively surprised, there is a great atmosphere here. That is what I was looking for. I am sure that I made the right choice. It is very easy to get lost in weighing up your food and all the numbers in TrainingPeaks, that kind of thing. That has to remain fun. I am not saying that it was not fun at Visma | Lease a Bike. But the atmosphere here, yes, that suits me better," says the Dutch rider.

Vader hopes to win again next season, like he did in the Tour of Guangxi 2023. "Hands in the air may sound very simple, but that is such a nice feeling. I experienced that more often in mountain biking. On the road it is – at least, that is what I found out – a lot more difficult. I just want that nice feeling again."

Back at Visma, there were way too many leaders for too few races, but at Q36.5, the hierarchy behind Tom Pidcock is not as strictly laid out. "It is true that I will get more opportunities here. In that respect it may be easier. They also asked me here what I dream of. Last year I did La Fleche Wallonne and I felt that it was a race that should suit me. I had a good feeling about that, so I put a circle around it."