This weekend marks the end of phase one of Team Sky's season - "the training camp phase," as team principal Dave Brailsford describes it.

Since early January the team has spent varying amounts of time in training camps, spread between Valencia, Mallorca and - prior to the Tour Down Under - South Australia.

The two camps in Valencia, the second of which finishes this weekend, represented a departure for Brailsford and his team, who for years, with the British squad, have used Mallorca as a training base.

But Brailsford's verdict on the Valencia camps is positive, despite the inclement weather that has blighted the whole of Europe. "We haven't lost any training days," says Brailsford. "We've swapped days, but none have been lost, and overall the camps in Valencia have gone very well.

"There's definitely a big difference to how we're operating now to how we were operating on the first day of the first camp. People have got to know each other, and their working practices.

Innovative

"A rhythm has developed and we've been able to get into some real detail. I'm very happy with the progress the sports scientists have made, and the collaboration with Pinarello is going very well - they've been dropping into the camp, bringing new equipment, and we've been testing it."

Race coach Rod Ellingworth has been an ever-present in Valencia, and he and Matt Parker, the head of marginal gains, have brought a new approach to training for many of the more experienced professionals. Split sessions, time trial and team time trial training, lead-out preparation, mock races - all have been part of the first Team Sky training camps.

"The training's been innovative," says Brailsford. "Guys will have done training and efforts here which they haven't done before. And for riders and staff alike - coaches, mechanics, carers - the race simulation efforts have been useful. They can highlight difficulties and snags.

"Team time trials and lead-outs: these are things you shouldn't really be leaving until the moment it counts, so you can't do enough practice. Training for them can take away the surprise element, and let you really concentrate on refining it."

The challenge ahead

The challenge now, adds Brailsford, is to maintain the good work through a hectic season. "Getting everybody face-to-face through the season is nigh on impossible, which is why these early season camps are so important, but I think everyone's gone away with a collective understanding, and it's up to us to keep communicating."

The morale of the riders and staff at the camps has been bolstered by early racing successes, adds Brailsford. He expresses satisfaction with those early results, but admits he is still learning every day. "I think I've learnt a lot," he says, "but if I said I hadn't learnt anything I'd be in a very dangerous place. I've learnt about the team, the people, the politics of the sport... there's something everyday.

"With any new project like this you put in a lot of hard work and there'll be some inefficiences that you have to iron out," he continues. "But I'm happy with the progress we've made so far.

"We've been on the podium. And we've won bike races, which is what we've set out to do. I'm very glad we're not sitting here still waiting, still pushing hard for that first win. No one can take away those wins: that's the important thing."