Chris Harper, who has moved to Jumbo Visma, said that while his absence from racing due to a coronavirus outbreak is unfortunate in terms of his first season as a professional, being happy, healthy, and able to ride a bike is not something he takes for granted.

The 25-year-old Australian, who joined the Dutch WorldTour for 2020 from Australian Continental team Team Bridge Lane, returned home to Adelaide when it became clear that the race would be postponed for a while.

"Having returned from Europe, she was quarantined for two weeks under government regulations. 'My sister returned from London a day later. We spent those two weeks on my parents' farm, which is about 20 minutes from my parents' house. It's so beautiful and peaceful there, and it was good to see my family again--especially in these precarious times."

While training outside is still allowed in Australia, Harper is also reunited with his Turbo Trainer and the indoor cycling platform Zwift.

"Like most athletes, I had to make some changes to my daily training. With my trainer, Tim Heemskerk, we have put together a good schedule for the next few weeks to help me maintain my fitness level and stay mentally fresh."

"It's an uncertain time for everyone right now, so I can't really set any race goals," said Heemskerk. I spent a lot of time on the Tacx trainer during the two weeks I was in quarantine, and while I haven't used Zwift in a while, I've been using it frequently lately as a great training tool to add variety and fun to my sessions."

"I've been using the Tacx trainer for a while now, but I've been using it a lot more recently.

In 2020, Harper, who has raced 17 days so far, competed in the All-Japan Championships and Tour Down Under in Australia in January, followed in February by the Tour de la Provence in France and the Spanish He was one of the most active riders in the propeloton, competing in the Vuelta a Andalucía.

Meanwhile, Jumbo Visma's new teammates Primoz Roglic, Tom Dumoulin, and Steven Kruijswijk, who will lead the team whenever and if the Tour de France takes place this year, have season, he has yet to turn the pedals in anger.

"It's a shame mentally, of course, not to be able to race for a while. Especially since it's my first year as a pro and I was really looking forward to the upcoming races," Harper said. [But at the end of the day, there are bigger problems in the world today, and it's not that I can't race. Of course, it can be a little tough mentally to be excited every day to work out, but the fact and thought that I can still ride my bike and be happy and healthy is of great value to me," he said.