'UAE Team Emirates made me feel so welcome - I want to repay the faith with more wins'

Approaching the final 300 metres in the Bredene Koksijde, I was just focused on victory. There was no panic, no cloudiness in my thought process, no second-guessing of my judgement, I was laser focused on the job in hand; a job that I’d managed to accomplish once in my career already, so this wasn’t a step into the unknown. Having attacked a little too late in the race in previous years, I saw my gap with 300m to go and launched my sprint with everything I had left and took home my first victory in UAE colours.

Granted, I had already won the Bredene Koksijde Classic once before, but getting the first win under my belt for UAE Team Emirates is something that I will treasure for the rest of my career. As a sprinter, you are always conscious of where your next victory might come from, so to do the job for the team early in my time here felt incredible and it’s a feeling that I am striving to repeat soon.

Having moved across from the Bora-Hansgrohe cycling team at the end of last season, I was eagerly anticipating our first training camp and to meet the team. In all honesty, I didn’t know many of the riders in the team on a personal level, other than interactions during and after races in past years. However, after only a few months, I can say that I – along with the other new riders for the 2022 season – have been welcomed into the UAE Team Emirates cycling family with open arms and been made to feel so welcome.

From the outside, the team always seemed to have such a strong bond and incredible feeling between riders, coaching staff, and support staff. Coupled with the trajectory the team was heading on, I felt this was the perfect opportunity to take this next step in my career. Being able to call myself a UAE Team Emirates