Birthday boy Bak backs his boys for Tour Down Under title
Dimension Data are riding the 2019 Tour Down Under with what is one of the strongest teams on paper. The seven-man squad includes 2013 winner Tom-Jelte Slagter, who was also third overall last year, Amstel Gold and Het Nieuwsblad winner Michael Valgren, and last year's Giro d'Italia phenomenon Ben O'Connor, who looks set for a very bright future.
Also on the team is Lars Bak, who finished third overall at the 2007 edition of the Tour Down Under. On the day he's celebrating his 39th birthday [Wednesday] – his seventh celebration of it at this race – the Dane talked to Cyclingnews about how he expects this year's race to unfold with his new team.
"With Tom, Michael and Ben here we have three cards to play for the GC, and for the stage wins, and we've actually also got Nic Dlamini, who won the mountains jersey last year, and Scott Davies, who was really good here last year, too," said Bak.
"We're here to make it a hard race and to do our best to take the win. If I see any opportunities, I'll grab them, but I'm mainly here to support them."
Compared to when Bak first rode the race and took third in 2007, the race has a very different feel to it, now attracting some of the world's best riders, and a number of climbers, in particular. This year's race is one of the most difficult in some years, with a tough day to Uraidla on stage 3, the return of the Corkscrew climb for stage 4, and a stage 6 finale that includes two ascents of Willunga Hill.
Bak has ridden the race six more times since 2007, and has seen the race develop first-hand.
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