Johan Esteban Chaves, the Orica GreenEDGE rider, is currently riding the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya. The Colombian rider told Cyclingnews that he feels like a new rider after a horrific crash at the Trofeo Laigueglia in 2013. Last year, he raced his first three-week race and this season, he hopes to be back at the Vuelta a Espana in order to finish in a top place overall.

“I feel like a new rider and more than confidence it gives you peace and the tranquility to be in the peloton, tranquility because you have a team that supports you and the calmness to face the races,” he told Cyclingnews. “It was a very difficult year and I really did not expect things to go as they did, but with the support and help of the team I was able to do so… It is an incredible team, from the manager, directeur sportifs, staff, cyclists and people working in the office. They form a group where it is easy to be happy.”

At the beginning of March, he rode for his first time a mythical race: Strade Bianche. “Strade Bianche was fine, but it's a difficult race for a boy of 56kg with winds of 60kph, white roads and guys over 80kg but it is an amazing experience especially since it was my first race in Italy since 2013.”

He will ride both the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a Espana.  “I’d love to (challenge for the general classification), but I always like to go step by step and stage by stage, I have trained well and we did what we had to do. We'll see during the races and take things as they come,” Chaves said.

“It is the first block of hard racing and at a high level, the expectations are very large and feelings are better than last year so on we go and we will see how things go”, he added. “It's the beauty of this team, we have no pressure, the pressure at Orica-GreenEdge comes from the individual. It is a race that is really suited to the Colombians, not only the climbs but also because it is hot. I like the race and I think that it suits my qualities. Last year was my first three-week race and you learn a lot, especially mentally and you realize that the body reaches limits that didn’t believe was possible.”