Max Sciandri is an Anglo-Italian, born in Derby, raised in Italy, who became a leading professional in the 1990s, and whose finest hour in GB kit came with his Olympic bronze medal in the 1996 Games in Atlanta. Aside from that performance, Sciandri was a talented one-day rider whose palmares includes stage wins in the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France.

But Sciandri reserved some of his best performances for British roads - arguably his biggest win was the Wincanton Classic World Cup event in 1995, and he ran out overall winner of the 1992 Tour of Britain.

Now Sciandri is head coach at the British Cycling Academy, based in his home town of Quarrata. His role with Team Sky is likely to be twofold, with stints behind the wheel of the team car as an occasional sports director, and - perhaps even more importantly - in helping to nurture the next generation of talented young British riders.

"I really enjoy working with the young riders in the academy - I love it," says Sciandri. "The academy has such an important role. The goal and the dream for Team Sky is to win the Tour de France with a British rider, and it could be someone from the academy.

"For the young riders the team is very important: they can come out to Quarrata, where around 40% of the team will be based during the season, and see what they're aiming for. No matter what age they are, they can be inspired and go home with a dream."

In his own 16-year professional career Sciandri rode for some of the world's top squads, but he thinks Team Sky can raise the bar. "Communication is going to be an area where we are really trying to take things forward," says Sciandri. "But one of the main things is to give the riders a voice: they're going to be the most important component of the team.

"You can tell, from talking to the riders, that this is a unique project, and something very special and exciting."