Having a group to head out with each morning at our team training camp in Mallorca last week was a change after having spent six winter weeks either riding alone or with just one other rider.

Riding in a group is refreshing on one basic level as there is always a conversation and, on another more complex level, it is a good and an essential element to finding the right rhythm on the bike for the season. In the group, you can converse for hours but also challenge one another. We ride in a paceline to gain leg speed, push each other a little harder on the climbs and sprint for imaginary finish lines for fun and to simulate a race.

I needed some speed in my legs after a long break from racing and so much time spent riding against the wind by myself. It felt good to be back in the group but also made me feel different physically. After the long rides alone, my body felt empty yet, after a long ride with the group, my legs ached in a new way due to the change in rhythm. In a group there is not the same steady pressure on the pedals that I have when training solo and therefore the higher peaks and lower valleys tired my muscles in a different way—like the transition from a pool to the open ocean where tides and currents affect each movement and little is static. By the end of camp, I had adapted to the new rhythm and achieved a higher level of fitness from riding nearly 35 hours on the bike in a week

Just before I left for camp, I received an email from the team management outlining the logistics for the camp. In the email was attached a list of the riders and their flight times etc. As I scrolled down the list, looking for my name, I realized what a potent team we have this season. We have depth: young talent, speed, climbers and Classics winners added to a strong line-up of successful veterans.

The team that will be riding the cobbled Classics—Flanders, Gent Wevelgem, and Roubaix—is arguably the best in the peloton and perhaps one of the best ever assembled. There are the proven veterans, Klier, Knaven, Hincapie, Hammond, and many young riders that have power and panache.

Klier and Knaven are an inseparable duo riding beside one another on the training rides, finishing each other’s jokes and, whenever they are given a chance, rooming together. They are also both incredibly experienced on the cobbles. Both have trained and raced on the famous Belgian bergs for the last decade and know the roads, the riders and the conditions better than anybody. (Andreas Klier has already been testing the new team bike, wheels and tires on the cobbles) Their experience and powerful punch will be a great asset to George and the rest of the team when they reach the bergs and sectors of pave this spring as knowing when to react is as important as having the legs to do it.

The weather in Spain the last month has been abnormally warm and dry; ideal conditions for pedaling for five hours but not ideal for the local farmers who complain about the parched fields to my wife Dede when she buys her vegetables and fruit at the local market. I spent many days in the mountains with David Miller, tapping away the kilometers, and chatting about the sport, the future, politics, psychology, art and whatever else we happened to be thinking about. Like any good training ride in the sun, they were energizing, enjoyable and put me on the right foot for the season.

When I arrived at the training camp we were immediately tested on the ergometer. Our VO2 was tested along with our lactate threshold, acceleration, body fat and weight. The morning I was tested, Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish were also strapped on to machines and being monitored. Cav, the punchy sprinter, literally cracked the crank on the ergo during his fierce acceleration test while Bradley stroked the pedals smoothly, seemingly effortlessly, as he pushed the sky’s limits on the VO2 test. Their skills were evident while they tested: the pursuiter and the sprinter. Both British World Champions provided an impressive display and the duo will likely pair up to make a winning combo in the Olympic Madison.

The eight riders who weren’t at the camp were striking gold in Australia at the Tour Down Under and led Andre Greipel to five stage victories and the overall classification-- solid start for the team despite the tumult of the off-season.

Next week we’ll all be together, with the women’s team, for a two-week training camp near Bob Stapleton’s hometown of San Luis Obispo where the team will be officially introduced. At the camp, we will continue to build and bond for the challenges ahead.