In addition to winning four stages at the Tour of Britain Team Sky also worked successfully with partner Gatorade to continue their commitment to world-leading practices.

The collaborative effort saw Gatorade Sports Scientist Matt Evans embedded with the Performance Support Team ahead of an audit of the team’s hydration and recovery procedures.

In the heat of the race and in front of huge crowds up and down the United Kingdom, the team were committed to learning lessons not just on the bike but off it too.

Matt worked under the supervision of Team Sky’s Head of Nutrition Nigel Mitchell at the race to prepare feed bags, mix the team’s drinks and carry out the daily hydration monitoring.

On working with the team Matt commented: “The amount of preparation that goes into the ensuring the riders have good food and drink options available to them is immense. Being part of the team provided a great insight into the Performance support team’s unique demands on tour’

“The hydration drinks were very popular, especially with the length of transfers on the tour.”

Development points

With the audit completed the team will look closely at development points going forward ahead of planning for 2013 and beyond.

Mitchell, who is keen to repeat the concept again next year, said: “This project was all about bringing together an effective collaborative effort between the team and Gatorade as we look to continue the development of world-leading standards. Monitoring and auditing what we do is an important aspect of that.

“We’re incredibly pleased with how it worked and this will only help both Team Sky and Gatorade going forward.”

For more information about Matt and Gatorade at the Tour of Britain don't forget to visit Gatorade UK's facebook page for content.