After capturing the uphill sprint on stage two of the Tour Down Under, many are calling Movistar’s Spaniard Juan Jose Lobato the county’s next Oscar Freire.

“It was great to win at the WorldTour for the first time. It’s never easy to win a sprint at this level,” Lobato told VeloNews. “It reveals that I am heading in the right direction. I have to keep working, and hope to post a few more wins this season.”

However, he doesn’t see the comparison to the three time World Champion, although he would clearly be satisfied is he ended his own career with a palmares like Freire has.

“To compare me to Freire is difficult,” Lobato told the Spanish media outlet 20 Minutos. “I am not him. It’s simply that we both like the same type of races, and I hope to be at the front in all of them.”

He lacks the ability in bunch kicks against the real fast men to win races, but he is strong uphill, with many of his eight pro wins coming in that type of terrain, and he is very good at positioning, as his sports director said.

“I am not a power sprinter like Kittel, and it’s hard for me to win when those type of sprinters are at the line,” Lobato continued. “I am better on uneven terrain, with a finale with a rising finish, or out of a smaller, more selective group.”

“Lobato is very good at finding his way in the bunch, jumping on wheels, taking advantage of the other trains,” said Movistar sport director José Luis Arrieta. “We’re not going to bring an entire squad to set up the sprints, but we believe Lobato can win quite a few races this season. We’ll support him enough to give him a good chance.”

Lobato echoed that claim, and he too wants to win more races in 2015 after a breakthrough 2014 and he is riding on the crest of a wave with his results Down Under.

“My real goal this season is to win more,” Lobato said. “My ideal would be to convert those second and third places into wins, and be more consistent in finishing off my sprints. I came close a lot last year. On one side, a bit frustrating, but overall, it only gave me more confidence and motivation that things are moving in the right direction.”

He may even be a Classics dark horse, after the 26 year old finished just off the podium in Milan-Sanremo and posted a top ten at the Vatenfall Cyclassics.

“It was a bit of a surprise for me to be fourth in Sanremo, especially since it was the first time I raced it,” Lobato said. “It’s a race I immediately liked. The harder and longer the race, the best it is for me. This year I will return with higher ambitions, but I also know this is an important race, with many big champions aiming to win.”