Michael Vink: MyWhoosh revived my career and led to UAE Team Emirates opportunity

In the latest column from the UCI World Tour team, the New Zealander discusses his route to professional cycling and how a virtual platform gave him a second chance

My cycling journey has been very different to most currently riding on the UCI World Tour.

Thinking back to my upbringing in New Zealand, cycling was always prominent. I remember being in school and having to choose a winter sport – most people went down the rugby and cricket route, but for me, it was always going to be mountain biking. Being in the outdoors and that adventurous feeling was really attractive. From there, I fell into road cycling and happened to be quite good at it!

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I remember transitioning from amateur to professional cycling and being amazed at the jump in level. The similarities were clear between the two; important factors to high performance like nutrition, recovery, hydration, and training schedules are still crucial as an amateur, there’s just an even bigger spotlight on them at the professional level.

Especially at UAE Team Emirates, who are the cream of the crop of UCI World Cycling. The standard here is so high that the levels of professionalism are unlike anything I’ve ever seen.

Thinking back to some early wins in my career, I was victorious at the National Time Trial and Road Race event. These are certainly memorable for me and something I look back on with pride. Whilst they weren’t necessarily personal victories, it opened doors for me in Europe, and my name certainly became known within the peloton. However, I was competing in a really strong generation of cyclists, so it made it harder for me to stand out on my own when racing within a team.

As the years progressed and opportunities started to become scarcer, I sort of accepted that my professional cycling journey had run its course. I felt content with this, and it actually led to some of the best form of my career due to the absence of stress or worry.