Far from resting on their laurels, Team Sky's Dauphine-winning line-up have stepped up their preparations for the summer by spending the last week at a training camp in Chatel, in the French Alps.
No sooner had Bradley Wiggins successfully defended his title in the traditional warm-up event for the Tour de France than the squad decamped to the stunning chalet "Maison Blanche et Verte" to hone their race-winning condition and also recce three stages of the Tour.
The Tour de France squad has yet to be finalised and Tim Kerrison, Team Sky's Head of Performance Support, explained: "This is a period we recognise is really important for the riders in contention for the Tour; it's not just about the training - being mentally and physically fresh and ready to take on the Tour is absolutely vital too.
"There are still gains to be made and training to be done. But we appreciate it’s also really important that people are spending time with their families and their partners while still able to train in a relaxing environment before they have to go away for a month and take on the challenges of the Tour.
Tour recce
"In terms of how the week has panned out, we headed north and had a look at stages seven, eight and nine of the Tour on Monday and Tuesday.
"We drove up in the car and then some rode the final of stage seven which is the first uphill finish [The 5.9km ascent to La Planche des Belles Filles averages over 8% and has stretches in excess of 13%].
"Stage eight is in the Jura mountains and they rode the last 60k to Porrentruy while stage nine is the first long time trial [Arc-et-Senans to Besancon – 41.5km] and they all rode that.
"Since then we've kept training very flexible and others have gone and done what’s right for them – so Brad’s going to Majorca with his family this weekend and training out there.
"Five of the guys who did the Dauphine are still based here in the chalet and three of their girlfriends have been able to join them. They’ve been doing one last block of hard training in the mountains before the Tour, but it’s a very relaxed, enjoyable place to be."
The chalet “Maison Blanche et Verte” was designed as a ski chalet for the winter, and as a cycling base for the summer and Kerrison added: "The cycling options from Chatel are fantastic, with dozens of great climbs of varying length and severity within easy access.
"And the chalet itself caters to the every need of the serious cyclist, with a sauna, gym, indoor pool, cinema and luxury living and dining areas to relax and recover after a demanding ride in the mountains."
