When I look back at my first WorldTour race with UAE Team Emirates-XRG, I can be pleased with my performances throughout the week and proud to have been part of a winning team at the Santos Tour Down Under.
I have been dreaming of making my UAE Team Emirates-XRG debut for a long time. Ever since I joined the Gen-Z team, I knew this is where I wanted to be. This is a special team, and that was clear from the moment I joined the team in the UAE for our October camp. To see firsthand the hard work all of the riders, trainers, and backroom staff put in on a day-to-day basis showed me why this is the UCI No.1 Team in the world. It was great to meet our fans in the UAE, their passion for cycling is growing every year and their support means the world to us. It made me feel really honoured to wear the UAE Team Emirates-XRG colours, and I couldn’t wait to start.
My debut with the team was made all the more special because I spent almost three weeks rooming with the eventual champion, Jhonatan Narváez. With Jhony, I got to witness first-hand what it takes to be a winner at this level of the sport, and anyone who watched the race will have seen how strong he was day after day. Despite a few setbacks throughout the week, he was always super motivated, and I was so happy for him when I heard he had won on Willunga Hill. Of course, for the rest of us, Willunga Hill was a test to be passed, rather than conquered.
Usually taking between five and ten minutes, the climbs in the Tour Down Under did not always suit me as a lighter rider, but this is why the Tour Down Under was a perfect place to start the season and challenge my capabilities as a young rider. Over the course of the race’s six stages, I quickly came to learn the difference between U23 and WorldTour racing. The teams race as a complete unit, and the level is a lot, lot higher.
Over the winter, I have made a point of trying to improve my short efforts, and this was put to practice in Australia. Before the race, I enjoyed a good week of training on the local hills with Jhony and Jay Vine, in particular, and all the preparation allowed me to enter the race with good legs. I was pleased to stay high in the young rider’s classification throughout the race, and I enjoyed both riding for my teammates and marking attacks off the front of the peloton.
On the stage to Willunga Hill, I found myself in the day’s breakaway after jumping across to a large group that was going up the road. However, it soon became clear that the other guys didn’t want me hanging around, given my position in the general classification. Luckily, Juanpe López decided to attack, and I knew this was a good moment to follow his wheel and work together to extend our advantage.
That moment in the breakaway taught me another lesson, though: to always stay focused in the feed zone. As we began to crest a climb, I saw the opportunity to grab a bidon from our staff, but as we began the downhill, the four other guys from the breakaway passed me and Juanpe with perhaps 30km/h more speed, and it was simply impossible to close the gap. That was the end of my time in the break!
Another day, another lesson learned, I sat up and waited for the peloton to help Jhony and the rest of the guys. His victory on stage 5 did not come by accident but through a smart game plan and impressive preparation. Right from the first day we arrived in Australia, it was obvious that he had trained really well over the winter, and I was delighted to see him retain his national championship title in Ecuador.
Now I am back home, it feels a world away from our time in Australia. The sun is not so hot - which is fine by me - there are no koalas to be seen on my training rides, and our goals have shifted to targets later in the season. But as I get ready to race the Vuelta a Andalucía, I look back with only happy memories of the Tour Down Under.
I am proud of how I was able to manage my first race as a member of UAE Team Emirates-XRG, and I can only smile when thinking back to our celebratory ice cream trip after Jhony’s GC victory. For three weeks, I was able to explore a new country with teammates who have quickly become friends, and I gained lessons that will be crucial as I hope to become comfortable at the top level of the sport.
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