Marcus Ljungqvist is swapping cycling clothing for civvies in 2010, and jumping off his bike to go behind the wheel as one of Team Sky's sports directors. From the team car he will, like the other sports directors, dictate tactics and strategy, though the Swede admits that, on the eve of the season, he is still getting to grips with his new responsibilities.

"I was a rider until very recently and so I'm figuring out my new role," says Ljungqvist. "But I have lots of experience as a cyclist, and I've worked with lots of sports directors. The job is about taking care of the riders, and out on the road I'm the one who'll make everything work - the race tactics, planning.

"I'm really excited to be here," Ljungqvist continues. "I think this team is going to take cycling to a new level, and that's one reason I wanted to be involved. It's still a little bit strange for me, though, to be sitting in a car rather than on a bike."

For Ljungqvist the decision to retire at the end of the 2009 season, after 12 years as a professional, was a difficult one, particularly since he had offers from his then team, Saxo Bank, as well as from Lance Armstrong's new RadioShack squad, to continue as a rider in 2010. But he says that "when I got the offer to come to Team Sky as a sports director there wasn't much to think about - I jumped on board."

He continues: "It's a really good team and I'm pretty sure we're going to be the best team in the world in the near future. But there are many things involved in being successful. Having ridden for many years as a professional I've met some good coaches, and some bad coaches. I think that a good coach is someone who listens, and who is there in the bad times. It's easy to be there for a rider when things are going well."

Asked whether, as a coach, he will favour the 'stick or carrot' approach, Ljungqvist says: "I'm a carrot guy...I met too many coaches in my career who preferred to use a stick."