Bjarne Riis was at the start of the first stage of the Tour Down Under on Tuesday. It was his first race with the NTT Pro Cycling team since his company, Virtue Cycling, announced that it had acquired a 30% stake in the team and appointed him as the new team manager.

Riis, phlegmatic as ever, denied being emotional about his return to professional racing at the highest level and dismissed criticism of his past.

At the start of the first stage of the Tour Down Under, Riis told Cycling News, "I'm not going to be a part of the Tour Down Under.

"Do I need to be emotional? I'm excited. My passion for the sport is still strong and I'm looking forward to working with NTT Pro Cycling."

Riis and Virtue Cycling have run a women's team and a men's continental team in recent years, but this will be Riis' first Tour Down Under in an official capacity since she fell out with Oleg Tinkov in 2015 and sold the team to a Russian businessman. This will be the first time Riis has participated in the World Tour in an official capacity.

Riis and his business partners, Lars Sayel Christensen and Jan Beck Andersen, announced their participation in the NTT Pro Cycling team two weeks ago in Denmark, which team owner Doug Ryder described as a "significant moment" in the history of African WorldTour teams. important moment" in the history of African WorldTour teams, he said.

NTT Pro Cycling revealed its 27-rider roster for 2020, including Danish riders Michal Valgren and Andreas Stockbro. The team has a stronger Danish flavor than its African origins.

The team will also be directed by former Team CSC riders Lars Bak and Lars Mikkelsen of Riis. The Danish news media outlet Ekstra Bladet reported that some of the new members of the NTT Pro Cycling staff were hired at Riis' request in anticipation of Riis taking over the team. They include team doctors Piet de Moore and Piet Daniels. Australia's Michael Rogers, also a retired Virtue Cycling staffer, now works for the team.

Mark Cavendish has moved from NTT Pro Cycling to Bahrain-Merida, and Steve Cummings has retired; the 2020 roster includes Victor Campenaerts, Domenico Pozzovivo, under-23 world champion Samuele Battistella are new additions.

Riis has already spent time with NTT Pro Cycling at their European training camp in Spain. He hopes to bolster his team following a poor 2019 season.

"I need time to get to know everyone and see how everyone works. Hopefully I can bring a little bit of my knowledge and spirit about how the team should be. I think I have good energy. A lot of the riders and staff are new to me and I've never worked with them before. But it's good and exciting," Riis said.

Riis and his partners have purchased 30% of the NTT Pro Cycling team, and according to Danish press reports, he may soon acquire a majority stake and take control of the team. Danish window company Velux has been named as a sponsor for 2021, when the Tour de France kicks off in the Danish capital of Copenhagen; NTT's current title sponsorship ends this year, but the rider has said he is in talks about renewal.

"Right now it's 30%, but I know my role, so I don't think much about it," said Riis, who declined to discuss future acquisitions.

"Whether it's 70 percent, 50 percent, or 30 percent, it doesn't count now. Being a minority owner really doesn't matter. I have a very good relationship with Doug Ryder and we are in agreement."

Riis divides people as much as Vegemite in Australia, and not everyone welcomes his return to the World Tour, having doped heavily to win the 1996 Tour de France and being accused of encouraging doping when he was team director of Team CSC Recall that he was accused of encouraging doping.

According to a 2015 Anti-Doping Denmark report, Riis admitted that he knew that Tyler Hamilton was working with Dr. Fuentes on blood doping and did not act to stop it. Riis also confessed to blood doping in his own career, which he had not previously revealed, and thus had personal knowledge of the blood doping practices.

Under UCI rules, Riis can still act as a team manager despite his past and has a UCI license. Many other former dopers are also active in team management or as dircteur sportifs. However, according to the Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet, Michael Ask, director of Anti-Doping Denmark, noted that Riis "lacks the credibility and moral capacity to lead a cycling team."

Riis acknowledged that there are criticisms.

"Of course, I pay attention to it, but ...... that some people have an opinion of me is nothing new.

"I was actually around - just maybe not at this level. You should probably know more about me before you give me an opinion like this. Maybe I should invite the critics over for coffee and explain to them how I do things."

"I am no different. I have the same philosophy, the same values. I don't see why that should change."