On Sunday, the Bulletin, along with some of the world’s leading cycling correspondents, was given an extremely rare insight into Team Sky. One thing that is blatantly clear and that is that the man with the hands firmly on the handle bars of the team is Sir David Brailsford CBE, the team principal.
He has been the driving force behind British cycling and now Team Sky since it was formed five years ago and, those members of the media who opted to go for “a cycle” with TeamSky and Sir David soon found out how he loves nothing more than to push people, make them hungry and mix things up. I was originally under the impression that we would be joined by Sir David for a gentle cycle, a stop for coffee, an off-the record chat and then back to their training camp at the Vanity Golf Hotel in Puerto Alcudia for lunch. But, on the eve of the cycle, Sir David changed his mind. He decided that he not only wanted to give the media a better insight into how the team works but also make us pay for some of the harsh comments which have been made over the past year, one in which Sir David admits the team did not perform to its full potential.
TeamSky provided the bikes, a luxury to begin with, and shortly after 10am, the media pack of around 25 and the professionals, led out by Tour de France winner Chris Froome, all set off together from the hotel.