Australian cycling star Simon Gerrans needed his nine-day break before the Herald Sun Tour.
Gerrans is the man to beat in the five-day Victorian tour, which starts late on Wednesday afternoon with a 2.5km prologue time trial through the Melbourne CBD.
He beat fellow world-class riders Cadel Evans and Richie Porte to win last month's Australian senior road title and the Tour Down Under.
Gerrans' form is unstoppable, but he admits the race favouritism at the Adelaide tour took a toll.
The Orica-GreenEDGE team leader beat Evans by just one second in the greatest race of the Tour Down Under's 16-year history.
"Physically I got through the Tour Down Under really well - being an early-season race, I'm still quite fresh and I was able to bounce back quite quickly," he said.
"But the Tour is a very intense race and there was a lot of pressure on myself and the team coming into it.
"So I was a little bit tired off the back of it.
"In the following few days ... catching up on a little bit of sleep, I feel like I've bounced back really well."
Even before the Australian season started, there was talk about Gerrans achieving a unique triple crown of wins at the nationals and the two domestic tours.
He was seen as the only rider capable of the feat this season, given that Evans and Porte returned to Europe after the Adelaide tour ended on Australia Day.
But one of Australian cycling's most professional riders is not interested in that hype.
"I was asked at the beginning of summer - 'are you going to try to win all three?'," he said.
"My answer was firstly I will start thinking about the national championships.
"Regardless of what happens at the national championships, then I will be trying to win the tour and it's exactly the same situation now.
"I've never really rested too long on my laurels or dwelled too long on the results when it doesn't go my way."
Gerrans' main opposition will come from the Garmin-Sharp team, which boasts top Australians Nathan Haas and Rohan Dennis.
Haas won the 2011 Herald Sun Tour and has made a great start to the year, finishing fifth at the Tour Down Under.
Gerrans again will have a strong team around him, with Simon Clarke and Cameron Meyer his main lieutenants.
He expects the overall title to come down to the last stage, the 124km stage at Arthurs Seat on the Mornington Peninsula.
It will feature three ascents of the steep 3km Arthurs Seat climb and a summit finish.
"There is nothing that's overly selective close to the finishes of any stage until we get to Arthurs Seat," Gerrans said.
"We're going to see some exciting and tough racing over the first three road stages, but I don't think we'll see any real selection.
"We won't know who the winner is until the last ascent of Arthurs Seat."
