Milan Vader wins Tour of Guangxi 18 months after saving his life

Milan Vader has just made his first appearance on the road with victory in the Tour of Guangxi. The Dutch rider took the overall victory after winning the fourth stage and holding the lead in the last two days. This victory is the confirmation of a talent who should have shone earlier in this discipline had it not been for the very serious accident he suffered in La Vuelta al País Vasco in 2022, which almost cost him his life.

Milan Vader wins Tour of Guangxi to end recovery and confirm his talent on the road

In 2020 and 2021, Vader was one of the best mountain bikers in the World Cup and XCO World Championship, and in 2022 he decided to make the leap to multi-discipline and signed with Jumbo-Visma to race MTB and road. His performance tests assured the team that he could perform well on the road, which was practically new to him in competition, but during his first year he had one of the worst crashes of the season.

Milan Vader was involved in a multiple crash during the 2022 Vuelta al País Vasco from which he suffered severe head trauma and caused a lack of oxygen to his brain. His life was saved at the University Hospital of Bilbao, but he had to relearn how to walk during his recovery, among other serious consequences.

Now, 18 months after the terrible accident, Milan Vader has just won the Tour de Guanxi, China, at the age of 27. A race won by the Spaniard Enric Mas in 2022 and which opens the list of victories for Milan Vader on the road.

In 2023, Vader has already been combining MTB and road racing and we saw him at the Nove Mesto, Lenzerheide and Leogang XCO World Cup events, as well as the European Championships. But one of his big goals, the Paris Olympics, is complicated by the current lack of places in the Netherlands for the mountain bike event and with his teammate Mathieu van der Poel as the main favourite to occupy the only place currently allocated to them.