Thomas Löfkvist came relatively late to cycling, but his talent was apparent early on. Aged 20, and in his first year as a professional, he won the Circuit de la Sarthe and was second in the Tour de l'Avenir, or 'Tour de France of the future'.

There is no doubt, however, that 2009 was his best season so far. He won the Monte Paschi Eroica in Italy - a tough one-day classic that favours the strongest riders. He then followed that with a strong performance at the Giro d'Italia, in which he wore the leader's 'Maglia Rosa' (pink jersey). It is in Grand Tours such as this, he says, that his future ambitions lie.

"I would like to perform well in a Grand Tour," says Löfkvist. "At my best I climb as fast as the best guys. I'm still lacking a little bit of endurance to be there day after day, but I'm working towards that."

Indeed, Löfkvist, since his earliest days as a professional, has been famous for his work ethic - his coaches have to rein him in, such is his keenness to put in the hours. Modestly, he reasons that "some guys have more talent, others have less. I have a bit of talent but there are guys with more, so I have to work hard. But I like riding my bike, so I don't see it as a punishment."

As for what attracted him to Team Sky, Löfkvist says: "The environment, putting the rider at the centre, the anti-doping regime, the whole set-up, I found very, very interesting. It's always a bit of a risk joining a new team, but I liked the vision, and I came over to Manchester to see what they had done with their track team and I was very impressed."

His ultimate ambition, he says, is to reach the very top. "The dream is always to win a Grand Tour. Whether I get there or not, I don't know, but there's no point working towards coming in the top ten. The dream has to be to win."