Serge Pauwels is unusual for a Belgian, since his cycling dreams do not revolve around the Classics. While one of Team Sky's other recruits, Juan Antonio Flecha, who comes from Spain - where they revere stage race riders - loves the one-day Classics, Pauwels is similarly paradoxical: he comes from a country where the Classics are virtually a religion, but prefers the Grand Tours.

"What we really miss in Belgium are Grand Tour riders," says Pauwels. "But I love those races. I remember going to watch the Tour de France in 1994, when I was only ten; it was a mountain stage and we stood on the Col de la Colombiere.

"Miguel Indurain was in yellow, and I remember watching him pass. It was a really exciting moment for me - and maybe that was the moment when I decided what I wanted to do when I was older."

In his first Grand Tour, the 2009 Giro d'Italia, Pauwels impressed: he finished in the top ten on three stages, and eleventh on one, on his way to a solid 33rd overall. "It was good," he says of the Giro, "and I hope I can do another Grand Tour in my first year with Sky, maybe the Tour de France. I think it might be too early in my career to go for general classification, but I think I can perform well in mountain stages and go for a stage win."

Away from cycling, Pauwels devotes considerable time to his studies. He has graduated from the University of Antwerp with a bachelor's degree in engineering, and is currently studying for a Master's degree in applied economics.

He is preparing to leave home in Belgium, however, to pursue his Grand Tour dreams - he says he will base himself in Spain, of course. "Long term I see myself as a GC rider," he explains, "and this feels like a good team for me to develop. There are a lot of talented riders, but at the moment the focus is maybe more on sprinters and classics riders. There should be opportunities for riders like me."