Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome will lead Sky's attack on the Grand Tours(Image credit: View over Abinger Hammer cricket ground as the peloton ride by fans in the Surrey countryside sitting in their local watering hole)
Chris Froome (Team Sky) finished second at the 2012 Tour de France and hopes to go one better this July(Image credit: View over Abinger Hammer cricket ground as the peloton ride by fans in the Surrey countryside sitting in their local watering hole)
Team Sky create a winter-long base in Mallorca for training(Image credit: View over Abinger Hammer cricket ground as the peloton ride by fans in the Surrey countryside sitting in their local watering hole)
Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) after his training session(Image credit: View over Abinger Hammer cricket ground as the peloton ride by fans in the Surrey countryside sitting in their local watering hole)
Team Sky's performance director Dave Brailsford(Image credit: View over Abinger Hammer cricket ground as the peloton ride by fans in the Surrey countryside sitting in their local watering hole)
Dave Brailsford and Richie Porte(Image credit: View over Abinger Hammer cricket ground as the peloton ride by fans in the Surrey countryside sitting in their local watering hole)
Mallorca is the perfect training ground for Team Sky during the winter(Image credit: View over Abinger Hammer cricket ground as the peloton ride by fans in the Surrey countryside sitting in their local watering hole)
Wiggins and Froome get ready for training(Image credit: View over Abinger Hammer cricket ground as the peloton ride by fans in the Surrey countryside sitting in their local watering hole)
Riche Porte (Team Sky)(Image credit: View over Abinger Hammer cricket ground as the peloton ride by fans in the Surrey countryside sitting in their local watering hole)
The Team Sky riders before their training ride(Image credit: View over Abinger Hammer cricket ground as the peloton ride by fans in the Surrey countryside sitting in their local watering hole)
Chris Froome (Team Sky) will target the Tour de France in 2013(Image credit: View over Abinger Hammer cricket ground as the peloton ride by fans in the Surrey countryside sitting in their local watering hole)
Wigging before his training ride(Image credit: View over Abinger Hammer cricket ground as the peloton ride by fans in the Surrey countryside sitting in their local watering hole)
The media circus begins for Chris Froome (Team Sky)(Image credit: View over Abinger Hammer cricket ground as the peloton ride by fans in the Surrey countryside sitting in their local watering hole)
Bradley Wiggins leads a Sky training ride through the mountains of Mallorca(Image credit: View over Abinger Hammer cricket ground as the peloton ride by fans in the Surrey countryside sitting in their local watering hole)
Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky)(Image credit: View over Abinger Hammer cricket ground as the peloton ride by fans in the Surrey countryside sitting in their local watering hole)
Chris Froome (Team Sky)(Image credit: View over Abinger Hammer cricket ground as the peloton ride by fans in the Surrey countryside sitting in their local watering hole)
Bradley Wiggins will look to win the Giro d'Italia in 2013(Image credit: View over Abinger Hammer cricket ground as the peloton ride by fans in the Surrey countryside sitting in their local watering hole)
Bradley Wiggins climbs alone(Image credit: View over Abinger Hammer cricket ground as the peloton ride by fans in the Surrey countryside sitting in their local watering hole)
The Sky riders make a quick stop during their training ride(Image credit: View over Abinger Hammer cricket ground as the peloton ride by fans in the Surrey countryside sitting in their local watering hole)
(Image credit: View over Abinger Hammer cricket ground as the peloton ride by fans in the Surrey countryside sitting in their local watering hole)
Dave Brailsford watches on as his team take a break from training(Image credit: View over Abinger Hammer cricket ground as the peloton ride by fans in the Surrey countryside sitting in their local watering hole)
Chris Froome (Team Sky) gets out of the saddle for a sprint(Image credit: View over Abinger Hammer cricket ground as the peloton ride by fans in the Surrey countryside sitting in their local watering hole)
Chris Froome (Team Sky) stays warm(Image credit: View over Abinger Hammer cricket ground as the peloton ride by fans in the Surrey countryside sitting in their local watering hole)
Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) salutes the media(Image credit: View over Abinger Hammer cricket ground as the peloton ride by fans in the Surrey countryside sitting in their local watering hole)
Pinarello once again supply Sky with their bikes(Image credit: View over Abinger Hammer cricket ground as the peloton ride by fans in the Surrey countryside sitting in their local watering hole)
Bradley Wiggins wraps up for some winter training in Spain(Image credit: View over Abinger Hammer cricket ground as the peloton ride by fans in the Surrey countryside sitting in their local watering hole)
Team Sky has again created a permanent training base on Mallorca so its riders can travel to the Spanish island for key blocks of pre-season training.
The British team likes to work discreetly on the local roads and climbs but opened the doors of the Vanity Golf hotel to the media on Thursday to counter any doubts and suspicions about the team and why it so successful.
Geraint Thomas and most of the other riders from the so-called 'Classics Project' squad are racing successfully at the Tour Down Under, but most of the riders who will form the squads to support Bradley Wiggins at the Giro d'Italia and then Chris Froome and Wiggins at the Tour de France were at the camp, clocking up quality training blocks under the careful eye of coach Tim Kerrison, performance manager Rod Ellingworth and team manager Dave Brailsford.
The camp was the first time Wiggins and Froome had spent any real time together since the Olympics last August. Their comments during the winter have done little to play down their personal ambitions and rivalry. They posed for photographs and followed Team Sky's carefully scripted message of non-belligerence when answering questions but their body language indicated they are far from best buddies. A change of Froome's early season race programme will see them race the Tour of Oman together but the real test of their relationship will come at the Tour de France.
All the 27 riders at Team Sky are closely followed by the team's coaching staff but are free to drop in and out of the camp. Most of the riders spend at least a week at a time on the island, doing blocks of specific training, divided by rest days. The Team Sky chef means they can follow special diets and soigneurs (the team calls them carers), mechanics and staff are on hand to give them full support.
The weather is not always perfect on Mallorca and heavy rain disrupting Thursday's scheduled rest day. The riders got in several hours on Wednesday but they were forced to ride on the rollers on Thursday morning before heading out for a spin later in the day.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
