Rod Ellingworth rode as an amateur with the UV Aube club in France and as a professional in the UK in the late 1990s. But it as a coach that he has really made his name.

As the man in charge of British Cycling's under-23 academy he helped nurture a golden generation of talent. Mark Cavendish, Geraint Thomas, Ian Stannard, Ben Swift, Jonny Bellis and Peter Kennaugh have all benefited from Ellingworth's pioneering coaching methods, which emphasise structure, analysis and support.

Ellingworth will fulfil a different - and unusual - role at Team Sky. He describes his position as Race Coach as "an intermediate role between coach and sports director. I like to work with people face to face, so I'll see the athletes every day, talk through their training and race strategies, while also liaising with the sports directors."

Ellingworth will live in Quarrata, in Tuscany, where Team Sky will have an Italian base, and where around half the team have elected to live.

"I'll travel with riders to and from races," he says. "It's a new type of role and in the long term it could challenge the traditional definition of a sports director. I'll be focused purely on the racing, encouraging the riders to really think about and analyse the race. We'll also use tools such as video analysis to help with that.

"I cut my teeth coaching the young guys at the academy," he continues, "but you need a different style working with professionals. I could be harsh at the academy, but I wasn't a dictator. I didn't shout and scream - I wanted them to feel responsibility for their performances and careers.

"I never made it as a top professional," Ellingworth adds. "But I think I learned a lot in trying to make it, about racing your bike, living out of a suitcase, and trying just as hard as anyone else.

"We've developed ideas at British Cycling about how to do things - it's an ethos, I suppose. And part of my job is to help instil that ethos, and to make sure we stick to the standards that have made the British team successful."