Jarrad Drizner's dreams of a debut pro season quickly turned into a nightmare when he severely lacerated his liver in a crash during the UAE Tour in February.

The Australian Lotto Soudal rider recovered from his early season crash and returned to racing at the Tour de Pollogne at the end of July. Drizner then competed in the Vuelta a España, his first Grand Tour, but his debut was again interrupted when he was forced to stop the pin after nine days of racing.

"It wasn't what I wanted," he said. I'd worked so hard to compete in the Vuelta, and then I got this stupid disease called COVID."

"It was really, really hard to stay positive at that point. It wasn't a great season for me."

By the beginning of August, Drizner had raced just 27 days, 11 of which were already on the results sheet before he crashed badly on the second and final stage of the UAE Tour. That terrible crash triggered a difficult recovery that included several weeks in the hospital, multiple surgeries, nearly two months on the bike with trainers before returning to the bike, and more than five months away from racing before resuming due to the COVID-19 interruption.

"You could say I was robbed of my season as a neo-pro," Drisners said at the Tour de Langkawi, the last race of the year.

"With so few race days, we didn't accomplish what we wanted to do this year, but next year we will start again.

Indeed, whenever Drizners talked about the obstacles he faced in 2022, he was quick to look at the opportunities ahead, acknowledging the trials of his debut year but urging not to dwell on them. After two one-day races that served as post-Vuelta restarts, Drizner's work on a new beginning in 2023 had already begun for him, as he competed in the 8-day Tour de Langkawi, a 2.pro rank race in Malaysia.

"We need to end the season on a positive note," Drizners said on the sidelines of the hot and humid Tour.

In Malaysia, Drizners, who started the season with high hopes of leading Caleb Yuan, got a chance to hone his sprint train skills and finished in the top 10 in an aggressive stage 7 race on the rugged island of Langkawi The team finished in the top 10.

With a solid race to close out 2022, the Driessners are off to a solid start to 2023, beginning with the Australian Road Championships in January.

"I want to race a full season, learn a lot, and hopefully go back and finish that Grand Tour," he said. And to do what I can for the kids, like I wanted to do this year, to be at the front with Caleb Yuan, one of the fastest sprinters in the world."

"It's easy to get motivated for that."