"It's going very well for me so far. I knew that my form wasn't bad," the 2021 Tour de France stage winner radioed to the "Krone" at the finish of the fourth stage. "I hope that I can compete for a top result on Saturday and that the podium will work out." Two mountains in the first category still await, in the overall standings only ten seconds behind overall leader Javier Romo (Sp), who is supported by Patrick's old buddy Gregor Mühlberger (Haidershofen) at Movistar.

Konrad's form is certainly good. For a good reason. A delightful one. The professional cyclist's second child was born in the fall, and Konrad was allowed to take some time off for the birth of little Oskar at Lidl-Trek. "The baby break was good for me. The team gave me a lot of time so that I could go into the winter break earlier and no longer had to race in Italy, Japan or China," says the young dad gratefully, "I was able to look after my family, but I was also able to start training earlier - and that's why I'm already at the start line in Australia."

His premiere on the other side of the world. "It's earlier than I'm used to, but the Tour Down Under is a race I've always wanted to go to because I've only heard good things about it. And I really like it." Which is reflected in the results list of the WorldTour race.

And what about the Grand Tours? "It looks like I'm heading towards the Giro," reveals Patrick, "so I'll take the UAE Tour with me at the end of February and then have March off, so I can prepare properly again, and then I'll take the Ardennes Classics and the Tour of the Basque Country as preparation for the Giro."

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