Mountain biker Dan McConnell has spoken to CyclingTips about being selected by Trek Factory Racing to ride the Tour Down Under, his country’s biggest event.

The talented Australian, who was third in the Commonwealth Games, will use the event to build up towards going for Gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

“I was very exited to hear it was possible to get a start,” he said, talking in advance of the official announcement. “Obviously it is a very big race in Australia. So to do the race will be pretty exciting. It is also a really good opportunity for me to experience something a little bit different, but at the same time really good preparation for my mountainbike racing as well.”

“I am hoping that by doing the Tour Down Under, I can get a really big base this coming season and come to 2016 not feeling that I have to catch up. I can then just focus on peaking and on my speedwork.”

“So this year I am really looking to get that good base with the Tour Down Under in the middle of my summer.”

McConnell may not be a road racer by trade, but he wont be making his Tour Down Under debut, having ridden the event in 2006.

“I did it with SA.com,” he said. “That was an interesting time because I had just come straight off the mountain bike with no road prep at all, so it was pretty tough. It was super hot too. It was the year that Matthew Lloyd had that big crash and passed out. I was on the same team as him that year.”

He hopes that he can impress and make the most of his week with the American-registered WorldTour team.

“The time of the season is good for me to do some road, because it is the only time of the year where I can do a lot of base kilometres,” he said. “When I am in the mountainbike season, the training is much shorter. The races are only an hour and a half so I only have to rain for that in mind. But over the Australian summer, I normally do some fairly longer stuff so that simulates the road a little bit more.”

“I won’t try to change too much, but at the same time I don’t want to go there and not be in good condition. I want to go there in good form and gain some good experience. I certainly won’t be taking any shortcuts.”

He says he isn’t sure what he can achieve at the race, but hopes that can enjoy himself and is looking forwards to being part of a team.

“I am not too sure about the goals to aim for. I guess it sort of depends on the team. I am not even sure of the roster that is coming over just yet,” he said.

“I am more just looking forward to something totally different… in mountainbiking we have team aspects but once there is racing, there was only me and Sergio this season. So there is only so much you can do in terms of a team element.”