Just a few short years ago, the 25-year-old cyclist had lost the passion for the competitive side of cycling and needed a break.

He took some time off and rediscovered the fire which now burns brightly inside of him.

In the time away from the professional circuit, Morton cleared his head and now version 2.0 is a more rounded athlete.

Now, the up-and-coming cyclist is matching it with the big guns on a regular basis and won the coveted Tour of Utah in 2016 – arguably one of his best results to date.

On Tuesday, Morton will compete in stage one of the Tour Down Under in Adelaide with team Dimension Data.

“This is my first race with a new team and my first world tour race in two years so I’m just hoping to get back into the swing of things,” he said.

While Morton stepped away from the world tour, he still enjoyed cycling in a sport sense, but the long time spent away from family and friends were taking their toll.

“Everyone who knows me knows I love nothing more than being on a bike,” he said.

“So I took a step back and went and raced in America for a couple of years with a small team with my brother just to try and find that motivation or work out the reason why I am doing the sport.

“I definitely found that in that team and was able to get the biggest results I’ve ever had. After finding that motivation and fire again, I’ve been riding a wave for the last 12 months.

“12 months ago if you told me I’d be back racing for one of the biggest teams in the world I probably wouldn’t have believed you, but here I am.”

Before he took time off, the 2016 Tour of Utah winner conceded he was immature and didn’t know what was important.

“Anyone who is 20 years old and tells you they know exactly what they want either are abnormal or they’re lying to you,” he said.

“At the time I was homesick, I was not enjoying the racing as a result of that and then I was not performing as a result of all those things.

“I wasn’t a happy person so I knew I had to make a change because I wasn’t living the life I wanted to.”

In his time away, Morton married in 2015 and suddenly everything became a lot clearer.

He admitted he now has a better perspective on “what professional cycling is.”

“But it’s not the only thing,” he said.

“I used to think it was the only thing and I’d have to be doing it all the time which would put that pressure on myself.

“Being able to race professionally is a privilege and not many people get to do the one thing they love every day and be paid for it.”

The 25-year-old admitted the first couple of days in Adelaide would be a case of “staying out of trouble”.

“The real crucial days are going to be stage two (on Wednesday) and stage five because they’re both hilltop finishes,” he said.

“The finishes can be pretty hectic here and certainly stage two will be the first chance to test the legs. After that we’ll know a bit more about what the tactic is, but we have to wait and see what happens on that finish.”