We last caught up with Simon just before he flew over from Australia to London for the team's launch - here's what he's been up to in the intervening couple of weeks:

January 20 2010

The launch was an amazing day. First up it was great to get out and ride with the competition winners. That was fantastic for the riders and I hope it was good for the public to get the opportunity to share that with us.

One thing that I've been really overwhelmed by is the public response to this team and how much support it looks like we are going to get. The amount of comments I've had on my twitter page and the amount of people that are commenting on the website and facebook is great. It's going to be a really fantastic vibe around the team, we're going to have a really good following and it's good to see the public are really getting behind it, right from the get-go.

After the ride on launch day we headed back to the hotel to get a quick shower and change of clothes and then we had the presentation to the media. I thought that was really good too. It was done so professionally and a level up compared to what I've seen in the past. It was pretty spectacular and seemed to make a real impression.

The next day we jumped on a flight down to Valencia and spent the next 10 days at training camp. We were a little bit unlucky with the weather for a couple of days but it was bad all over Europe and for the last week it was pretty reasonable so we were able to get some good quality training in.

It was great riding with all the guys and good to spend a bit of time with the ones I didn't know that well beforehand. It doesn't take long for the personalities of the team to start to come out - you can pretty quickly work out who the jokers are and who are the quieter ones. Everyone seems to be getting along really well and really gelling. You don't see the same two guys sitting together at dinner every night, in fact hardly ever, as everyone is happy to mix with everyone else so that's great.

I haven't done a whole lot since Valencia as I got a little bit sick for the last two days at camp and have been battling a cold for the last few days. I guess I'm not as tough as the European guys! I come over to train and the first sign of cold weather I get sick.

Then again the change in temperature was pretty extreme. On New Year's Eve I was training in about 45 degrees and on the fourth of January we were riding in London in minus temperatures. That's nearly 50 degrees difference so it's not a big surprise I got a bit sick.

I pretty much just have to rest up, as much as I can. And it's hard because the longer that you don't ride you know the more training you've got to catch back up on. At the same time you know your body needs to rest and recover in order for you to get well again. It's a bit of a Catch-22 so I've just been trying to do a few little rides here and there but not anything of too much significance and I've also been resting up at the same time.

I'm getting better now and am back in Spain, not too far from Valencia. Hearing the news about Hendy winning and CJ running second in the Cancer Council Helpline Classic at the Tour Down Under was fantastic. I was in an internet café and it flashed up on the TV so I got to see the guys win which was great. Everyone in the whole team will be absolutely delighted with that result and especially the guys down there in Adelaide, to be out there racing for the first time and do that is pretty special.

Looking ahead to the next few weeks, there's testing to be done, another training camp and then my first race for Team Sky, the Vuelta a Andalucia, and I'll be updating this blog again before that gets under way.

(Simon was talking to Jonathan Turner)