Peter Kennaugh is expecting to be firing on all cylinders once again by the time the Tour du Haut Var rolls around later this month.

The 20-year-old had looked solid during his first week as a professional before a bug swept through the peloton on the final day of the Etoile de Bessèges and left him bed-ridden.

Team-mates John-Lee Augustyn and Steve Cummings were also forced to pull out of the race but Kennaugh is now well on the road to recovery and will use Team Sky's second training camp in Valencia to prepare himself for his return to France.

He said: "I'm still feeling a bit rough but I'm 10 times better than I was on Sunday morning - I was wiped out and couldn't ride.

"I went down for breakfast with the team and forced a bit of food down me, but when I got back to my room I didn't have the energy to pack my bags, let alone do a bike race, so I decided to call it a day.

"I was asleep for most of the day and didn't really eat much, but that's passed a bit now."

In the days prior to his illness Kennaugh had adjusted seamlessly to life on the ProTour, helping Cummings achieve fourth place at the GP Cycliste la Marseillaise and also driving the team onwards at Bessèges, although he is expecting far tougher tests to come.

"Racing-wise they were not much different from what I've been doing for the last couple of years," he added.

"The Marseillaise was fine. It was quite a quick race with a few decent climbs. And the stages in Bessèges were only 140km long, which is around the same distance you often race as an amateur.

"The weather was also pretty helpful. There was only one afternoon where it rained but that was as bad as it got really. The winds weren't too bad either which was good.

"I'm sure there will be harder races though."

Working well

Although Kennaugh admitted it took the seven-man squad some time to find their feet in the south of France, he was happy with the way they worked together as the week wore on.

He said: "At the Marseillaise and the first stage of the Bessèges our communication was always good. Maybe we didn't ride together perhaps as well as we could have done, but by the time it got to the second day of the stage race we had gelled really well.

"Obviously you are going to have a few teething problems to start off with, getting to know the guys and how they work, but everything started to come together really quickly.

"By Thursday we were riding around each other a lot better, and in the peloton we were moving together and doing things really well as a team."

Kennaugh linked up with some of the other members of the squad in Valencia on Monday and is not being rushed to regain top form:

"I'm just going to take it easy for a few days and then pick up my training for the Tour du Haut Var.

"February is a busy month but it's okay because I can recover after the GP di Lugano (on February 28) and get myself refreshed in March. I have a nice three-week block with no racing before the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya begins on March 22."