Greg Henderson is a sprinter who seems to be getting better with age. After spending the early part of his career dedicated to track racing, 2009 was his best season on the road, with a stage win in a Grand Tour, at the Vuelta a Espana, the highlight.

The New Zealander's speed was honed in the velodrome. He is a former Commonwealth and world champion, in the points and scratch race respectively, but he is now dedicated "100%" to the road, and to winning bunch sprints. "I've got a pretty extensive track background," says Henderson. "And I've raced against the British guys for many years. I know what they've done, where they've come from and how good they are."

It was this experience that persuaded him to sign up to Team Sky. "They said they were going to do the same thing with road racing. So I want to be part of it, because I've seen how they develop good riders into better ones."

With that Grand Tour stage win in his pocket Henderson is confident he can challenge for more, and in 2010 he is aiming for the biggest races in the world. "I should get a few opportunities to race as [the team's] finisher," he says. "I want to fight it out in Grand Tour stages, including at the Tour de France, and in Milan-San Remo and Ghent-Wevelgem.

"There are quite a few fast sprinters in the team and I think we'll all get chances at different points of the year," Henderson continues. "So many things can happen in a bike race that it will sometimes come down to who's got the best chance at the end. And whoever that is, we'll all support that."

Henderson's former team, Columbia-HTC, demonstrated that good sprinters can make equally effective lead-out men, and Henderson says he is prepared to play that role for others. But he hopes, after spending the 'summer' in his native New Zealand, to start the season with a bang, and maybe claim an early victory to open his account with Team Sky.