Since he became a junior world champion on the track in 2004 Geraint Thomas has been tipped for great things. Now aged 23, he has achieved much - two senior world titles, an Olympic gold medal and a world record in the team pursuit, not to mention the award of an MBE - but many feel that there is far more to come from the Welshman.

Like so many of the other British riders, Thomas is a product of the British Cycling Academy. It allowed him to combine road and track racing, though his career has not been without its setbacks. The biggest of these came in February 2005 when a training crash in Australia left him with serious injuries, including a ruptured spleen, which had to be removed.

Recovering from those injuries, he missed most of the 2005 season but returned in 2006 to continue his progression towards the top of his sport. And remarkably, just over two years after his accident, he lined up at the biggest race of them all, the Tour de France, as the youngest rider in the field.

That he finished his debut Tour at the age of just 21 was impressive enough - but Thomas seemed to thrive, and he played an important role in setting up his Barloworld team-mate, Robbie Hunter, for his win on stage 11 into Montpelier.

While still keen to combine track and road racing, Thomas might be about to make a major impact in some of the world's top road events. "Since I started cycling I wanted to ride the biggest road races, and when you're a kid you dream of riding for one of the big teams," says Thomas. "It's awesome now because you can dream of becoming a pro with a British team, and Sky will definitely be one of the world's best.

"It's so exciting to be part of it: it's mega. If we can take the principles behind the success of the track team across to the road, then I don't see why we can't be the best in the world."