Caleb Yuan, who made headlines 12 months ago with his move from Mitchelton Scott to Lotto Soudal, had everything to prove. He went into the 2019 Tour Down Under under pressure to fill Andre Greipel's hole, and although he left the World Tour race without a win, he had a breakthrough season.

He won the Giro d'Italia and consolidated his status as the world's best sprinter by winning three stages in his Tour de France debut; a year later, Ewan returned to the Tour Down Under with Lotto Soudal.

The difference is that Ewan knows that the season will not be decided in the coming weeks and months. Of course, getting a stage or two in his home race would be a welcome start to the year, but after his incredible performance last July, he will be judged by that high standard.

"I'm really happy to win in Australia, but I'm not going to go there as intensively as in previous years," Ewan said at Lot Soudal's winter camp.

"I want to relax a bit more this year and not play the National or Bay Crit. I think that will affect my preparation for the Tour Down Under. Instead, I won't be racing. If I win, great, but if I don't, I don't care. Winning the Tour Down Under won't change my life right now, but it would still be nice to win in front of my home crowd, so I hope I win."

The Tour Down Under has several stages that would suit Yuan, and given his confidence and experience, he has a good chance of winning the first stage and becoming the first rider to wear the leader's jersey. However, this "pocket rocket" sprinter learned a lot last year. His move to Lotto Soudal after a frustrating final year at Mitchelton gave him great perspective in dealing with pressure and expectations.

"This time last year I felt a lot of pressure coming into the team," he said. 'There's pressure to perform at least as well as you did last year. But every year is a new challenge. Do you try to get results after a bad year, or do you try to get the same results as last year? The pressure is different now, but I'm in a much better position now than I was last year."

Cycling News will bring you previews, news, features, and techniques from the Australian pro peloton before, during, and after the race. We will also show you how to use ExpressVPN (opens in new tab) to live stream the Tour Down Under, regardless of your location.