Pete Kennaugh will work for Astana Qazaqstan in 2025 as a sports director, as the Kazakh team's British influx continues.

The 35-year-old former British national champion hung up his wheels in 2019 , after a career mostly spent at Team Sky. He went on to become team manager of Trinity Racing, a British Continental development squad, working with riders like Tom Gloag, Luke Lamperti and Bob Donaldson. Trinity have an uncertain future ahead of them, according to reports earlier this year.

After Sir Mark Cavendish spent his final two years with Astana, breaking the Tour de France stage win record in the process, it was announced earlier this week that Alex Dowsett will join as a performance engineer, before Kennaugh's own announcement. It's understood that Cavendish had a role in bringing Dowsett on board. Cavendish and Kennaugh are friends, as well as both hailing form the Isle of Man.

"Alongside the Performance Group, which we have significantly strengthened, changes will also affect the sports directors in the 2025 season," Astana boss Alexandr Vinokourov said in a press release. "Our team will welcome three new directors. We know Lorenzo Lapage very well; he is an experienced and responsible Sports Director with an excellent vision of the race, as well as a great administrator and team coordinator off the bike.

"In addition, we have two young sports directors: Peter Kennaugh and Dario Cataldo. Both are former professional riders with a fresh perspective on modern cycling. Peter Kennaugh already has some experience as a sports director, while Dario Cataldo is transitioning directly from being a rider to this new role. That said, he knows our team very well, having spent several years with us, so he will be able to contribute not only to Astana Qazaqstan Team but also to our Development Team in his work with the riders."

Starting from next season, Astana Qazaqstan will receive sponsorship funds from Chinese carbon fiber company XDS. The deal will see the team receive a long-term investment of “at least five years”, with financing “at the level of leading WorldTour teams”, according to a press release shared this summer.

The ITV Tour de France commentary team fear the loss of free-to-air coverage of the race will have a “devastating effect” on the sport of cycling in the UK.

Last Friday, it was announced that Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of Eurosport, had signed an exclusive deal with ASO, the organisers of the Tour de France, to show the race in the UK.

The partnership will come into effect in 2026, and will mark the end of ITV’s 25 years of coverage, meaning viewers can no longer watch the race live for free.

Speaking on his podcast, Never Strays Far, ITV’s lead commentator Ned Boulting said he was “a little bit shaken up” by the news, which he only heard about on Friday.

“If I’m perfectly honest, It’s been coming. It’s not an entire surprise. I’ve seen the writing on the wall, and ultimately, if you step back and think about the economics of the way it works and everything, it’s not a huge surprise,” Boulting said.

“Obviously, though, we have one more year left: next year. Obviously, though, on a personal level, I am struggling to find the exact right words, but I’m a little bit shaken up by it because, it goes without saying, the race I’ve been fortunate enough, very privileged to get to know as well as I have done, for as long as I have done, feels like it’s moving away from me.”

Boulting’s co-commentator, four-time Tour stage winner David Millar, described the loss of free-to-air coverage as a “bummer”, saying that it casts “a much bigger, more permanent dark cloud over this decision”.

“For me and so many others, it was the free-to-air production, Channel 4 and then ITV, that really brought me into the Tour de France,” Millar said.

“I come from a family that wasn’t into cycling. It’s not something that somebody in my family would have had the Tour de France on, and I’d have seen it in passing and eventually got persuaded to come in. It was me that found it or stumbled across it on Channel 4 in the early 90s, and it just added a whole new level of colour.

“I think that counts for so many others, so many others, not just cyclists, but cycling fans. We know from our experience as well with ITV commentary that the reach it has, let’s be honest, far exceeds Eurosport in the sense that it is accessible.

“The majority of the people that watch the ITV Tour de France show, they don’t watch any other bike racing in the year. They also don’t want to just watch a pure racing show, they want to watch something that is inclusive, and goes a bit beyond the race, which is what the free-to-air has always done in the UK.”

Millar went on to say that he believes the loss of free-to-air television will “once again damage cycling in the UK”.

“Let’s be honest, it’s struggling at the moment, on all levels, and to have the Tour de France taken away from free-to-air means that the descending spiral that we appear to be in in the UK with regards road cycling is going to continue. It sucks for the kids like me who fell in love with this quirky sport, and they could just go and turn on a TV and watch it on their own. They didn’t need their parents to get a subscription.”

Speaking on the same podcast, Pete Kennaugh, one of ITV’s main Tour de France presenters, shared Millar’s opinion. “For cycling in the UK, for me, it’s a massive, massive step back,” he said.

“I think the fact of it not being free-to-watch anymore is going to have a devastating effect on the sport in the UK. You might not see it in a year’s time, two years’ time, but going forward, five years, 10 years, I think it will have a huge, huge impact. Even me going on the school run, you have parents, who you had no idea watch the Tour or are into cycling, talk about, ‘What a stage that was’ or, ‘Did you see his attack or that crash?’ It’s really, really sad.

“I don’t think it should be allowed to happen personally,” Kennaugh added.

Junior Tour of Wales creator John Richards was "one of those characters and personalities that leaves an imprint on you", Pete Kennaugh has told Cycling Weekly.

"You just remember him," the former national champion and Team Sky Tour de France veteran added. "He was a real warm-hearted person."

Richards's passing, aged 83, was announced a week ago by Welsh Cycling. As well as serving on the Welsh Cycling executive committee for many years and also commissairing races, Richards inaugurated the Junior Tour of Wales in 1981. It has since become an icon of junior racing in Britain, with riders such as David Millar, Geraint Thomas and Dan Martin among those who have either won it or finished on the podium. 

Kennaugh said the Junior Tour was "where the passion for cycling was ignited". He rode it three times in total, having been given special dispensation aged 15 to ride in the junior category, and he won the King of the Mountains classification and came second overall in 2006. 

"It's just turned out to be the benchmark," Kennaugh says of the JTOW. "Back when I was racing it was huge. It was probably the biggest race of the year. We did a few trips to Europe, but still for a lot of the guys it was all about the Tour of Wales, and getting a result.

He added: "I've just got really good childhood memories from going there… it was really sort of where the passion for cycling was ignited."

The 33-year-old, who now works as a DS at the Continental Trinity Racing team as well as on ITV's Tour de France coverage, described the JTOW as the starting point when it comes to looking at the form of potential young signings.

"It's a go-to, in terms of results," he says. "You know, if someone's in the top three in the Tour of Wales, or has won a stage, it says a lot about the rider."

Current JTOW organiser Richard Hopkins said he owed Richards a great deal personally, describing him as quiet and humble, "Totally the antithesis of somebody who you think might be organising a very big bike race.

"One thing that was very apparent about John is that he did always perceive this as an international cycle race," Hopkins said. "So the ambition and the scope that he had for the race was there right from the beginning."

Richards leaves behind a wife Keri, a stepson and two daughters.

Pete Kennaugh is back in the house he grew up in, leafing through scrapbooks he made as a teenager, a bike he drew sellotaped to the front. Inside lie his hopes and dreams for the future as he made the first steps towards his professional cycling career.

The pages contain mantras to guide him on his path to the top of the sport, short diary entries on his life as it was then as a teenager hoping to go pro. Now, reading it back in his early thirties for the first time since, Kennaugh almost shudders.

"I said it in the film, it was quite intense, it's quite serious stuff," Kennaugh tells Cycling Weekly, having teamed up with Wahoo for a mini-documentary reflecting on the life of the former Sky rider two years after he stepped away from the pro peloton to focus on "rediscovering happiness, motivation and enthusiasm". 

"Looking back on it...that was a part of the process of my journey to becoming a professional, I guess," he says of manifesting his dreams through the scrapbook into his reality. "I did feel like it was quite serious for a 15-year-old but obviously it helped get me to where I wanted to be."

A boy who was that obsessed with getting to the Olympics didn't care about missing out on the normal teenage stuff. Nights out, or the less glamorous past-time of tinnies in the park, were of little interest. He sat through endless school days waiting for the Saturday club run. At the weekend he would be in his element sprinting for the sign, stopping at the cafe for beans on toast. There was no pressure from his parents or anyone else who could sense his talent, he was allowed to just go out and enjoy riding his bike.

The first nights out for Kennaugh came when he moved to Manchester after making it onto the British Cycling Academy, living in Fallowfield, the epicentre of student life in the city. Kennaugh would ride with the other members of the academy back through central Manchester after dark from track league on a Tuesday night while the rest of their peers were going the other way out to the bars and clubs.

"The first year on the Academy I was really strict," Kennaugh says. "I've talked about complacency a lot recently and I really wasn't complacent at that age, I felt like I had to work to get to where I wanted to be. 

"The second year, once I got a few results and felt a bit more secure in my ability, then I enjoyed myself on a couple of nights. I remember going for a track session with Rob Hayles [after a night out], training for the World Cup Madison and I'd literally had one hour sleep.

"You know how you walk the line for team pursuit? We had to hold the line but in the Madison, so just me and rob on the track and I was absolutely swinging and just came off. I said, 'Rod [Ellingworth], I have to be honest with you mate, I went out last night, had two hours sleep'. I think he was just grateful for me being honest with it...he was pretty strict, Rod."

'It's just like a constant rollercoaster'

In the intervening years since those early days, Kennaugh climbed to the top of the sport, Olympic glory at a home Games and a key lieutenant during Team Sky’s glory years. 

By 2019, however, Kennaugh admits he had lost touch with reality. He jammed on the brakes and brought his career to a complete halt.

“I felt like I just completely lost touch with reality to be honest, like the value of the pound, just everything,” Kennaugh admits of life inside the cycling bubble.

“Stopping was obviously something I had to do but it was also like a massive reality check. We just never had a chance to because the season is just so fast, you get a month [of off-season] where you go on holiday, go on nights out, all the stuff you can't do in the season, and then all of a sudden you're back training again, you don’t have that space or time to really sit down and gather your thoughts and work out where you’re at. It's just like a constant roller coaster.” 

Over the past three years Kennaugh has now taken the time and space to catch up, getting to grips with the learning curve of figuring life out, which is something everyone has to try eventually. But when you’re a sportsperson you can exist within a vacuum that provides you with very clear, defined goals and aims, that allows you to keep any existential crises at bay until cracks start appearing and everything comes tumbling down. 

Maybe it’s an Isle of Man thing but Kennaugh, like Mark Cavendish, is an intriguing character. Wide-eyed, unbreaking eye contact, he speaks between exasperated huffs from puffed-out cheeks as he relives the mental turmoil, recounting the journey from scrapbook hopes to the other side of realising those dreams and the emotional toll that has put on the man behind the rider. 

So, after a reflective couple of years, what advice would he now give to the young man writing in that scrapbook all those years ago?

“I dunno, I feel like I'd probably have more advice for the 24-year-old version of myself,” he decides. “I feel like when I was 16, I’m really happy with how I lived my life and how everything developed. Yeah, I was serious, but I enjoyed it.

“But then, mid 20s, I'd gotten to this weird headspace where I was just never present. I'd go around my parents’ house and feel like I was a fly on the wall looking in at their conversations. Even when I went to races I was just always stressed without realising. It made it really hard to be present and just enjoy the moment. I was always preoccupied with what's next.

“The advice I'd say to my mid 20s self is just live in the moment and enjoy it. Just look around and look at what you're doing and take it in. I was always in this weird zone, not letting myself really enjoy or soak in what I was doing, I felt like I was on autopilot all the time.”

Soon after he quit Bora-Hansgrohe ITV reached out to Kennaugh to see if he’d be interested in becoming part of their Tour de France coverage. He was apprehensive, having only just stepped away from the sport he’d fallen out of love with, but knew it wasn’t an opportunity he could pass up. 

So he found himself in France once again during July, the subsequent years then spent in less glamorous surroundings in Maidstone due to the coronavirus pandemic, but that hasn’t stopped him from building his broadcasting skills and on-screen chemistry with Ned Boulting and David Millar.

“It’s something I really liked doing, commentating on the Tour de France,” Kennaugh says. “But I don't think I'd like to do it all year round, going from race to race to race. But it's been a great experience.”

Maybe it would be too much of a return to his old lifestyle.

“You basically just live out of a suitcase throughout your career,” he continues. “So many times you'd come home and wouldn't even unpack it. I mean, a lot of the time everything gets washed on the race anyway. So you've come home for two days and maybe take a couple of things out and then just re-pack it and go again.”

However, there are murmurings. In the film, Kennaugh starts getting his bike out again, having originally turned to running to sooth the soul, turning the pedals “re-ignited the fire” he says, and a return to the sport is now on the horizon.

“I think basically I got to the point two years ago where I was just not going back to the sport in any way, shape or form,” Kennaugh admits. 

“But I feel like I finally got to the point now where I'm passionate about it again and want to be involved. In what context? I don't know. The next couple of months I'm trying to figure out whether that's working for a team, riding in some way, or just literally going out on the bike to have a good time on the club run. But I think I've got to that point now, where [before] I was never there at all. There's always still a bit of a battle and a bit of a struggle."

He continues to ponder, as if working through the thought process of deciding his future in real-time.

“I don't really know what direction next year is gonna take me, right here and now I'm gonna figure that out. I'll probably know in a month or two. But in my head, I want to have a direction and have a plan by December, know what I'm doing career-wise and then just really go for it. I've had three years now, had the ITV stuff but apart from that, it’s just pondering thoughts and ideas of what I want to do.”

Once you’re in the world of cycling it’s pretty hard to get out, and Kennaugh is no exception.

“When you stop you realise that you're actually pretty good at that, cycling,” he says. “And it's such a big world and there's so much stuff that you're just not good at,” he laughs.

“It's so true though!

“That's what I've realised like, Jesus Christ, even just writing an email with correct grammar, do you know what I mean?”

Kind of, but for all of us normal folk it’s much more inconceivable to ride up mountains pushing out the watts Kennaugh and his ilk do.

A father of four, a more relatable comparison to put things in perspective would be the question of what's harder, raising four children or riding the Tour de France?

"Riding the Tour de France every single day," Kennaugh answers without missing a beat. "Honestly, four kids, actually I'll have to thank Lauren [for that]. Honestly, it's a breeze.

"Obviously we had Alba [his fourth] in June, which was a surprise, my head fell off for about four months, but now she's here it's great. Love it."

There are few pretenses with Kennaugh, who has enough stories and the openness to share them that it's little surprise he's been such a hit as a pundit.

“Brailsford said to me once, probably in 2014, I think I went home around the Ardennes, I wasn't feeling great. And we were just talking about normal life and stuff and he was like, 'trust me normal life sucks. You don't want to go there'. And I was like, 'why?'

"I mean, that's his view on it...it definitely doesn't suck, but I think what he was trying to get at is make the most of what you're good at in life because it goes quick.

"I'm 32 now, will be 40 before you know it and then 50. And all of a sudden, it's done, isn't it? I think that's the point that he was trying to make. So yeah, that's where I am at the minute."

Of all the superhuman athletic freaks to have ridden a bike competitively, maybe Pete Kennaugh is the most human.

Pete Kennaugh has said that he is considering a comeback into professional cycling after nearly three years away from the sport.

A former double national road race champion, Kennaugh announced he would take an indefinite break while riding for Bora-Hansgrohe in April of 2019 as he battled ongoing mental health issues.

In a new film by Wahoo called 'Pete Kennaugh – The Book That Was Never Finished', the 32-year-old talks of the emotion he has towards cycling now he has been away for so long.

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In the film, Kennaugh said: "If I'm sounding like the last three years have been some kind of pilgrimage, it hasn't, it's been far from it. 

"I talked about cycling being hard in the last couple of years in my career, well the first year of retirement was the most stressful and down, hardest experience for Lauren, my wife, and the fact that she's stuck with me now is incredible from what I put her through and how low I was. 

"Going through that, that was part of the process."

Kennaugh's last race was at the UAE Tour in early March of 2019 before the Manx rider announced that he needed to step away from the sport.

His decision saw cyclists such as Owain Doull (soon EF Education-Nippo), Adam Blythe, and Sir Bradley Wiggins throwing support behind him for the "brave" decision to move away from professional cycling.

"It's been an experience or a journey that I wouldn't take back because if I hadn't have done it I wouldn't be where I am now, I'd be in the same position, just wasting years and wasting time." Kennaugh continued.

In his career, Kennaugh won the British national road title twice along with two stages of the Critérium du Dauphiné, the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, Tour of Austria and others in his excellent nine years as a professional.

He added: "I could go back to cycling now and someone could say 'oh there's Pete Kennaugh who retired or stopped three years ago' and I'd be like 'so what?' I've seen life. I've lived. I've helped myself and actually for you thinking that actually says more about you than anything.

"What gives me the confidence is because I wouldn't have thought like that two years ago, that would have petrified me or that would've been enough for me to never ever dream about going back.

"But without asking the question, or without being brave enough to put yourself out there again... You'll never know. And why not? Why not rewrite the chapter that was never written? The book that was never finish?"

"So, write some more stories. You know? Write a different ending."

Kennaugh continued by adding how he feels the fire within him, how he is trying to keep it under wraps because of the circumstances he's in but he feels it when he rides his bike and when he clips into his pedals. 

"I clipped in today and I was like 's**t, that's it'. That's what I feel. It's belonging, normality, freedom, this is who I am, purpose. Everything with that one clip of the pedal.

"A sports psychologist who I'm really good friends with as well, when I stopped he helped me out and his main question to me was 'what's your identity? Who are you? Everyone knows you as Peter Kennaugh the cyclists, but who are you?'

"And the answer to that is... Peter Kennaugh the cyclist."

A flood of tributes have already poured in to “true inspiration” Nicolas Portal after his death, aged 40.

The former pro and Team Ineos sports director was a hugely popular figured both inside and outside the peloton and the death has hit the cycling world hard.

Riders from Team Ineos and those in the media who knew portal have spoke of his “humility, passion and energy.”

Former world champion Michał Kwiatkowski said: “I don’t want to believe it. Always smiling, always fit, always full of energy. Life is not fair. My thoughts are with his family and friends. RIP Nico.”

Brit Tao Geoghegan Hart said: “I never met someone Nico didn’t have time for. I never met someone who didn’t think the world of Nico. He was a true inspiration. His energy, his humility, his passion for life shone so brightly.

“Nico Portal, it was an honour to work with you. We will all miss you immensely.”

Their fellow Team Ineos rider Salvatore Puccio said: “The news you never want to hear, RIP Nico.”

Peter Kennaugh, a former Team Sky rider who said Portal was his first room-mate as a pro, added: “I can’t believe the news of Nico Portal passing away. My thoughts and love are with his family, who he cherished more than anything.

“The friendliest most genuine, kind person you could ever wish to meet. Words can’t explain how much he will be missed.”

News emerged on Tuesday evening (March 3) that Frenchman Portal had died suddenly at his home in Andorra.

Reports say that Portal, who rode as a professional from 2001 until 2010, died from a heart attack.

After starting his career with Ag2r Prévoyance, he went on to ride for Caisse d’Epargne before seeing out the final year of his racing career with Sky Procycling.

But it was as a tactician and DS that Portal found his true calling, as he became an integral part of Team Sky, later Team Ineos, as a Grand Tour winning machine.

Deceuninck – Quick-Step said on Twitter: “We are in shock and saddened by this dreadful. Our heartfelt condolences and thoughts go to Team Ineos, the family and friends of Nicolas Portal, a man who loved life and cycling, but was taken too soon from this world.”

Lotto-Soudal said: “So sad to hear the shocking news that Team Ineos team director Nicolas Portal passed away. Just 40 years old. So unfair. Big thoughts to his family and team.”

Alex Dowsett, a former Team Sky rider now with Israel Start-Up Nation, said: “Devastated to hear this. Thoughts with you all, Nico’s family and friends. RIP.”

Cycling journalist Orla Chennaoui said: “Nico Portal was a rare being in professional sport – a gentleman who always had time and a smile for everyone.

“I first met him as a rider and through all his success as a DS he never seemed to change.

“A kindly father and father figure. My heart goes out to his family and the team.”

Pete Kennaugh (Bora-Hansgrohe) made a "brave" decision to stop his racing career early to focus on himself and his family, say fellow British riders.

Kennaugh, Olympic champion and two-time stage winner in the Critérium du Dauphiné, took n indefinite break from cycling last week, saying he needed to "rediscover happiness, motivation and enthusiasm."

"Brave is the right word. It's easy to get drawn in and carry on when you're not enjoying it," Owain Doull (Sky) told Cycling Weekly. "When you stop enjoying it it's the best thing to do.

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"I'm super proud of him. It's not an easy thing to do when you've been doing it your whole life, for Pete since he was seven or eight years old. It's a brave thing to step away. To put your mental health and happiness first."

The 29-year-old also took a break in 2018 because he "felt quite down." He raced a full season afterwards, which included winning the Grand Prix Cerami. Five days ago, just after a few races this 2019 season, he pulled the brakes completely.

"Pete's not someone who's just going through the motions, that was maybe one of the factors. He's been a British champion, Olympic champion, stages in the Dauphiné... Won a lot of big races," Doull said.

"If you're not getting that same satisfaction out of it, being at that level that you know you're capable of and you enjoy racing at the front and winning... That's almost like a testament to Pete's character, that if he's not at his best or 100 per cent then he doesn't want to do it. And that's a good sign."

"The main thing is happiness in life, everyone wants to be happy and live their lives," Adam Blythe (Lotto-Soudal) explained. "I think Pete was struggling and just wanted to be happy again with his family.

"It was a brave decision. There's a lot more to life than just sport. For Pete, being a cyclist doesn't make who he is. For a lot of people it's that way.

"If you have families you have to make tough decisions. For everyone in life, happiness is something you can't buy. You might be the richest guy in the world, but if you are unhappy then it doesn't make a difference."

Doull and Blythe both said that all riders struggle at times in tough periods. It can cause doubts about what they are doing in a focused and high-tension sport.

"At the end of the day, it's a hard sport, you race a lot, you're away a lot, especially with Pete having a young family," Doull added.

"It looks like an easy life, but it's far from it. If you asked any pro, everyone would have their bad periods or question whether they want to carry on doing this any more."

Peter Kennaugh says he needs to “rediscover happiness, motivation and enthusiasm” as he takes an indefinite break from professional cycling.

Kennaugh’s Bora-Hansgrohe team announced on Friday morning (April 5) that he would take a step back from the sport due to ongoing mental health issues.

The 29-year-old said he has made the decision to take time to recover.

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In an Instagram post, Kennaugh said: “The time has come where it is now necessary to become one with my decision to take a break from professional cycling.

“After many years of struggling on and off the bike, I have made this decision, not only for me, but also for my family.

“I need to concentrate on the person that I want to be going forward and to rediscover happiness, motivation and enthusiasm in my day-to-day life.”

Kennaugh, a double British champion and two-time Critérium du Dauphiné stage winner, joined Bora in 2018 after eight seasons with Team Sky.

Last season Kennaugh took an absence from racing in the early season, saying he “felt quite down.”

After finishing the Great Ocean Road Race, he rested from the end of January until the Tour de Romandie in April.

He returned to ride a strong final month of racing, finishing third in Tre Valli Varesine and 16th in the World Championships.

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After announcing his break, he added: “I can’t thank enough the people who have helped me through the last couple of years, especially the last couple of weeks.

“With hope, I am excited for the years to come and the fresh challenges that lie ahead in and out of our sport.”

Bora-Hansgrohe team manager Ralph Denk said: “We thank Peter for his contribution to the team and we wish him well in his recovery process.

“We look forward to him making a full return to professional cycling in the future.”

Peter Kennaugh has criticised ‘out of control’ rules after riders were fined for signing on late before stage three of the UAE Tour.

The Bora-Hansgrohe pro was speaking on behalf of riders from four other teams, who were all penalised for "failing to respect the order and the timing of signing the sign-on sheet."

A total of 27 riders from Katusha-Alpecin, UAE Team Emirates, Groupama-FDJ and Astana were all fined at the end of stage three for being late to the ceremony at the start of the day.

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The riders were fined 500 Swiss Francs each (£377) and deducted 20 UCI points per rider, while their team mangers were charged 100 Swiss Francs (£754).

Kennaugh, whose team were not involved, told Cycling Weekly: “It’s out of control if you ask me.

"How can you set a rule that if you’re late for sign-on this happens. People in the UCI must not understand what’s involved in getting to a bike race.

"I’m stood here chatting to you, it wouldn’t be possible because I’d be worried about getting there on time.

“Do they want us to leave the hotel at 7am so we can get to the stage two hours before so we can then have time to get ready, talk to the press, talk to fans?

“It’s just another one of those rules that makes no sense.”

Riders fined include Marcel Kittel and Alex Dowsett from Katusha, Alexander Kristoff and Fernando Gaviria from UAE Team Emirates, and Gorka Izagirre from Astana.

Katusha were 34 minutes late to sign on, UAE 30 minutes, Groupama 21 minutes and Astana 14 minutes.

UCI rules state that race organisers can set the order for riders to sign a starting sheet before each stage.

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The signing on ceremony takes place one hour and 10 minutes before the start time for the stage, and will end 10 minutes before the race kicks off.

Stage three of the 2019 UAE Tour was a 179km run from UAE University to Jebel Hafeet.

Riders had a 172km transfer from their hotels in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi to the start line in Al Ain before the race.

Kennaugh added: “I understand you’ve got to sign on. But if you sign on within 10 minutes of the start like it usually is, that should be okay.

“It’s just hypocrisy.”

Peter Kennaugh (Bora-Hansgrohe) says he is "coming back slowly but surely" after taking a break during the 2018 season.

Kennaugh won the GP Cerami, rode a strong World Championship race and placed third in the Tre Valli Varesine last week.

In China, he made the escape in day one of the Tour of Guangxi, all following a voluntary rest earlier this year.

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"Back in the early part of the season, I wasn't feeling, for one reason or another," the Manxman told Cycling Weekly.

"I couldn't get my head together and never felt right on the bike. I really struggled. I took some time and I'm coming back slowly, but surely."

Kennaugh pulled the brakes after the Tour Down Under in January, not returning to racing for three months.

For 2019, he wants more consistency and this winter, he plans to take less time off the bike.

At this point in the season, Kennaugh said would have already stopped racing.

"It's just that early part of the season, February to April, but if you don't go well there then everyone asks, What's up with you? But riders don't race from the Tour de France until the start of the next year and no one asks them a question," he continued.

"So it doesn't seem to be my part of the season, maybe I can correct it, maybe I can't but for some reason you get asked questions if you don't go well there but people don't go well from the Tour until the end of the season.

"Riders have peaks and troughs. Most of riders have a part of the season where they are good and others where they are not, except for Alejandro Valverde!"

The 29-year-old won the Tour of Austria and the Coppi & Bartali stage race in 2014, he reigned in a tough 2016 Cadel Evans race, and took two stages, one on Alpe d'Huez, in the Critérium du Dauphiné.

"It's a fickle sport, you are only has good as your last race," he said. "Everyone forgets what you've done in the past and just looks at the last month's racing."

Kennaugh finished 16th for Great Britain at the Worlds after he attacked on the penultimate climb to soften the competition for his team-mate Adam Yates.

"I've been good in one-days and struggled in stage races this year. I sort of had the World Champs for the second half of the season as a focus, and that kept my motivation high. With that form, I could perform well in the Italian one-days. And I still felt good here so I can't complain.

"The Worlds was really good from my point of view. I put quite a lot of effort into that race. I spent two days at home in eight weeks.

"It was good for my motivation, morale, self-belief to just be up there with the best climbers in the world."

Kennaugh meets Peter Sagan and the rest of the Bora-Hansgrohe team immediately after China's biggest race ends this weekend. They will have a planning camp in Lienz, Austria, for 2019.

"I'm motivated for next year, so that's good," he added.

"Maybe I'll focus more on the one-days and the Giro d'Italia, but it's the middle of October now and I'm in China. But that's already progression for me, usually I'd already have one month off by now!"

Michael Matthews (Sunweb) won the 2018 GP de Québec in a sprint finish.

The Australian out-sprinted Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) - who finished second in the race for the third year running - and Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo), to seal his third win of the season.

Although the race culminated in its usual big bunch finish, Peter Kennaugh (Bora-Hansgrohe) came close to upsetting the sprinters with an attack on the third to last lap. He retained a gap under the flamme rouge, but the uphill finish proved his undoing and he was caught with just 300 metres to go.

In the sprint, Enrico Gasparotto (Bahrain-Merida) went early, allowing Matthews - who was about to run out of wheels to follow - to swing over and latch onto his slipstream.

When the Italian exhausted his resources, Matthews, Van Avermaet and Timo Roosen (LottoNL-Jumbo) started their sprints neck and neck, before Matthews accelerated away for victory.

How it happened

A breakaway group of five was established at the start of the day, consisting of Nicolas Dougall (Dimension Data), Guy Sagiv (Israel Cycling Academy), Rob Britton (Rally Cycling), Alex Cataford and Bruno Langlois (both Team Canada).

The break built a maximum lead of in excess of over six minutes over a peloton lead mostly by BMC’s Kilian Frankiny, but began to come down when other teams started to pull at the front.

The race did not begin with a full set of riders, with Magnus Cort (Astana) and Lars Bak (Lotto-Soudal) both failing to make the start line due to illness, and more abandoned after some nasty crashes.

At one point a dog escaped its leash and ran amok in the peloton, causing a crash that forced Nuno Matos (Movistar) to exit the race.

Later, with around 55km, another four riders went down on a tight corner, including Ruben Plaza (Israel Cycling Academy), who abandoned, and last year’s sixth-place finisher Tom Jelte Slagter (Dimension Data), who managed to make it back to the peloton after 10km of chasing.

The most significant increase in pace came courtesy of Astana, who amassed at the front on the 13th lap, by the end of which the gap was down to just 1-16.

Their work eventually set up an attack from Jakob Fuglsang on the Côte de la Montagne, 29km from the finish.

Peter Kennaugh (Bora-Hansgrohe) had more success with his counter-attack on the subsequent descent, gaining a gap and picking off the remains of the splintered break of the day as he began the penultimate lap.

Britton and Langlois were the last two survivors, and were caught by Kennaugh with 22km to go. By that point the peloton were just 20 seconds behind, with other riders in between also attempting to bridge up to the leading trio.

The fresher Kennaugh soon dropped the other two riders five kilometres later, but saw his gap come down to just 12 seconds following an attack from Kenny Elissonde (Sky) in the peloton.

Kennaugh nevertheless stuck it at, and by the start of the last lap remained around 20 seconds ahead of the peloton, and a little less over a chasing trio that had been established consisting of Jakob Fuglsang (Astana), Robert Carpenter (Rally Cycling) and Matthias Frank (Ag2r La Mondiale).

That trio was joined by another three riders with 10km to go: Nathan Brown (EF Education First-Drapac), Nathan Earle (Israel Cycling Academy) and David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ).

As a group of six they failed to work well together, however, and were swept up by the peloton 6.5km from the line.

Kennaugh remained out in front, but work from Trek-Segafredo, UAE Emirates and Dimension Data brought him within touching distance.

Still the Manxman hung on, however, somehow resisting the charging peloton over the final climb.

It was only with 300 metres to go that he was at last caught, paving the way for the bunch sprint won by Matthews.

Results

Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec 2018 (201.6km)

1 Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Sunweb

2 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team

3 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo

4 Timo Roosen (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo

5 Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe

6 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Quick-Step Floors

7 Arthur Vichot (Fra) Groupama-FDJ

8 Nathan Haas (Aus) Katusha-Alpecin

9 Michael Valgren (Den) Astana Pro Team

10 Anthony Roux (Fra) Groupama-FDJ

Peter Kennaugh has said his absence from racing earlier this year was down to a lack of motivation to ride that nearly stopped him training earlier in the season.

The Bora-Hansgrohe rider is hoping to kickstart his season at the Critérium du Dauphiné this week, after a stop-start 2018 has hampered his debut season at the team.

Kennaugh started his season in Australia in January at the Tour Down Under and Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.

However, an unexplained physical and psychological issue led to his absence until the Tour de Romandie.

“It was nothing specific, I just felt quite down for a couple of weeks and really useless on the bike," Kennaugh said. "I’d head out for an hour and then just turn around. It got to a point where I didn’t want to go out because I felt so rough.

“I don’t know if I overloaded everything with too much travelling and it all just caught up with me. I’m just happy to be back to it now and put that behind me.”

Appearances in Romandie and Eschborn-Frankfurt doubled his racing days for the season to 14. He started the Dauphiné on Sunday, finishing 74th in the opening Prologue and 56th on the first road stage.

“I did a training camp in Tenerife and Romandie so hopefully I’ll be in good condition for the Dauphiné," Kennaugh said before the race.

"One day there was just a click of the fingers and I did four and a half hours out of nowhere and felt like I was back to my old self again. After that it’s just been full gas and doing everything I can to get back to shape again,” he said.

Kennaugh added that regaining top form at the Dauphiné will be crucial in his pursuit of a place on the Bora-Hansgrohe Tour de France squad, which begins on July 7 in Vendée.

“After the last couple of months, I’ve really got to prove myself at the Dauphiné but I’m going into it a lot more confident,” he said.

“Form-wise I don’t know if I’ll be able to be right up there with the best, but hopefully I won’t be too far off.

"I’ll know for definite about the Tour afterwards, but I’d love to be there to help the guys and hopefully go with really good legs.”

Peter Kennaugh has an eye to the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race as he rides into early-season shape at the Tour Down Under, which the Manxman’s new team now leads.

Kennaugh was the third rider back to the Bora-Hansgrohe van after teammate Peter Sagan won the 128.2km fourth stage to assume the ochre jersey today.

The 28-year-old put an ice vest on as he arrived at Uraidla in searing heat that caused exhaustion and disorientation in the bunch.

>>> Peter Sagan powers over climb to win stage four of Tour Down Under

“I don’t know what everyone else does over Christmas but I like to enjoy some family time and relax. I always come here with a bit of work to do, and maybe more so this year,” Kennaugh said post-race.

“But usually I come out of this race quite good and then feel good for the Cadel Evans race, so try and do something there. Jay [McCarthy] has got good form there as well so it will hopefully be me or him, and then we have Sam [Bennett] for a sprint. I’m looking forward to that.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wud_XTWy81M

Kennaugh, who won Evans’ eponymous race in 2016, described his arrival at Bora-Hansgrohe as “relaxed”, laughing at Sagan as the Slovak passed wearing sunglasses as well as motocross goggles, presumably part of a sponsorship arrangement, on his head.

“I’m so much happier here. I think because it’s serious when it needs to be but just generally more relaxed… Last night, for instance, we went out for food and had a good meal, not just sitting in the hotel every day. You know how it is, it gets quite mundane when you’ve been there since the fourth,” he said.

Sagan may be in the race lead but Bora-Hansgrohe maintain they are backing McCarthy for the overall, which defending champion Richie Porte will look to secure on the queen stage tomorrow.

Porte has reigned on Willunga Hill for four consecutive years, with none able to match his trademark attack about 2km out from the finish.

>>> Tour Down Under 2018: Latest news, reports and race info

Kennaugh, like everyone else on Friday, had no immediate answer to it either.

“Try and follow him I guess, but that’s not up to me! I couldn’t follow him, not a chance. Have a rope and just hang on,” he joked.

“It doesn’t change much, how we’ll ride, because we were going to go for GC with Jay, so if Peter can get over as well then ever better.

“BMC haven’t really got involved so far in this race so maybe they should try and control things as well tomorrow.

“I’ll do what I can, making sure everyone has bottles all day and riding if I need to, but so far it’s been great fun being here with a different team.”

Peter Sagan has touched down in Australia for the opening WorldTour race of the 2018 season – the Tour Down Under (January 16-21).

The road race world champion heads an impressive line-up for his Bora-Hansgrohe team, which also includes British rider Peter Kennaugh and Irish sprinter Sam Bennett.

Kennaugh will make his debut in Bora-Hansgrohe colours after making the switch from Team Sky for 2018. The Manxman proved in 2016 that kicking off his season in Australia suits him as he won that year's edition of the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.

>>> Tour Down Under 2018 start list

Although Sagan's form is an unknown going into the first race of the season, it is likely that the Slovakian will be in the mix during sprint stages with Bennett as a solid back-up. He will face competition from the likes of Italian sprinter Elia Viviani, who makes his debut for Quick-Step Floors in the race.

German sprint powerhouse André Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) and Australian hope Caleb Ewan (Mitchelton-Scott) are also among the top-level fastmen taking part.

Tour Down Under race director Mike Turtur commented: "We expect another aggressive showing at the race from Sagan. Seven years ago we saw Sagan attack over the last climb on Willunga Hill finishing fifth, battling it out alongside Cadel Evans, Alejandro Valverde and Luis Leon Sanchez.

“The race and the fans are in store for something special again when he tackles the climb this year.”

Along with Sagan, Bennett and Kennaugh, Bora-Hansgrohe's line-up consists of Daniel Oss, Maciej Bodnar, Rüdiger Selig and Jay McCarthy. The latter will spearhead the team's hopes of a high overall placing, having finished third on general classification in 2017.

>>> Tour Down Under 2018: Latest news, reports and race info

Last year's Tour Down Under was won by Richie Porte (BMC), who returns to defend his title in 2018.

The six-stage race commences on January 16 and finishes on January 21, and is preceded by a short criterium race in Adelaide - the People's Choice Classic - on January 14.

Mark Cavendish and Peter Kennaugh kept their London Six Day hopes alive on the second night of racing on Wednesday, despite dropping to fifth overall in the standings.

The British pair are now a lap down in the overall on Cameron Meyer and Callum Scotson, having suffered a disappointing end to the night as Kennaugh punctured in the final Madison.

Kennaugh scored early points in the 40km Derny race that opened the Six Day events, but the Manx riders were unable to score in the following Madison chase.

Their major success of the evening came in the 10km points race, which Cavendish won to the joy of the home crowd.

But ultimately the night didn't end well for them, having gone on the attack to try and gain a lap in the concluding Madison, Kennaugh suffered an untimely puncture and was forced to wait an extended period for a replacement.

While they still secured third at the end of that event, Cavendish and Kennaugh finished with a lap lost to Dutch pair Yoeri Havik and Roy Pieters as well as Meyer and Scotson.

Day one leaders and two-time London Six Day champions Moreno De Pauw and Kenny De Ketele also lost ground in the defence of their title, sitting in third place overall at one lap down.

Results

London Six Day 2017, day two overall standings

1 Cameron Meyer & Callum Scotson (Aus) 148 points

2 Yoeri Havik & Roy Pieters (Ned) 144

3 Kenny De Ketele & Moreno De Pauw (Bel) 168 (-1)

4 Alberto Torres & Sebastien Mora Vedri (Esp) 165 (-1)

5 Mark Cavendish & Peter Kennaugh (GBr) 154 (-1)

6 Morgan Kneisky & Benjamin Thomas (Fra) 115 (-1)

7 Niklas Larsen & Casper Von Folsach (Den) 127 (-2)

8 Ollie Wood & Mark Stewart (GBr) 113 (-2)

9 Casper Pedersen & Marc Hester (Den) 100 (-2)

10 Theo Reinhardt & Kersten Thiele (Ger) 89 (-2)

11 Felix English & Mark Downey (Irl) 97 (-3)

12 Nick Stopler & Melvin Van Zijl (Ned) 53 (-3)

13 Steven Burke & Chris Latham (GBr) 82 (-4)

14 Wojciech Pszczolarski And Adrian Teklinski (Pol) 47 (-5)

15 Sebastian Schmiedel & Maximilian Beyer (Ger) 37 (-6)

16 Vajtec Hacecky & Alois Kankovsky (Cze) 35 (-7)

Mark Cavendish will join forces with fellow Manxman Peter Kennaugh to race the London Six Day event at the end of October.

It will be Cavendish and Kennaugh's first appearance together at a pro Six Day event, with Cavendish joking on social media that it will be "two angry Manxmen together".

Despite being their first professional Six Day appearance together, it is far from the first time that the two riders have ridden together on the track.

The two frequently rode together in their formative years and have both been part of the Great Britain track set-up. Cavendish and Kennaugh won the 2008 Madison British national championship, and rode together in the Madison at the 2009 Track World Championships, where they finished sixth.

Having missed previous editions of the London Six due to team commitments, Kennaugh has found himself with available time to take part in the event after deciding to leave Team Sky and sign for Bora-Hansgrohe for 2018.

>>> Peter Kennaugh to leave Team Sky for Bora-Hansgrohe in 2018

“I’ve wanted to do a pro Six Day for so long and looking at Six Day London in the last couple of years I really wanted to be there – but Team Sky always had an end-of-season get together on at the same time,” Kennaugh said.

“But then this year, with moving teams, it’s given me the opportunity to do it and I’m really looking forward to it. I did a lot of Six Days as an Under-23 when I was on the British Cycling academy and have wanted to race a pro one ever since.”

Cavendish is still returning to full race fitness after crashing out of the Tour de France in July. He rode in the Tour of Britain, and recently placed sixth at the Grand Prix d'Isbergues in France but elected to miss the World Championships in Norway.

“To team up with Pete is going to be great fun, we go back a long way – I’ve already been chatting to him to talk tactics and to give him the low down," said Cavendish.

“Without doubt, we’re aiming for the win. It’s going to be tough racing over six days, but I don’t think either of us go into races thinking of anything other than how we can come out on top.”

Last year, Cavendish teamed up with Bradley Wiggins at the London Six, where the pair finished second overall behind Belgians Moreno de Pauw and Kenny de Ketele.

The 2017 London Six Day takes place at the Lee Valley VeloPark velodrome – venue for the London 2012 Olympic Games – over October 24-29.

Peter Kennaugh and Daniel Oss have both signed two-year deals with the German Bora-Hansgrohe team, starting from the 2018 season.

Having spent seven years with British Team Sky, Manxman Kennaugh joins Bora-Hansgrohe with the aim of leading the squad in shorter stage races.

>>> 11 best out-of-contract riders who could be changing teams for 2018

"Peter Kennaugh did an excellent job in the past for Sky, he was several times part of the team winning the Tour," said Bora-Hansgrohe team manager Ralph Denk.

"However, we think he still has potential to improve as a rider. Being a strong climber, who is also fast on the flat, he should be able to win some stage races, and we want to support his development into this direction. Peter will be one of our leaders for one-week tours next year."

Kennaugh himself said that he was 'excited' with the move.

"I am very excited to sign for Bora-Hansgrohe," said the 28-year-old.

"It is a great opportunity for me to begin a new chapter in my career with a team of huge potential. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to all the riders and staff that I have worked with during my time at Team Sky.”

>>> WorldTour transfer rumours: Warren Barguil to Fortuneo-Oscaro; Team Sky sign Movistar time trial specialist?

Despite often working in the service of nominated team leaders at Sky, Kennaugh has still managed to build up a strong set of victories in his seven years with the team.

Earlier this season he won a stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné, and last season he wore the race leader's jersey in the Vuelta a España. He has also won the 2016 Great Ocean Road Race and 2014 Tour of Austria.

He was British road race champion in 2014 and 2015. On the track, Kennaugh helped Great Britain's team pursuiters to gold in the 2012 Olympic Games and 2012 World Championships.

Italian Oss has forged a name for himself as a super-domestique for five years with BMC Racing and before that, Liquigas. He will rejoin former team-mates Peter Sagan and Marcus Burghardt on the team.

"Oss was always on our list," said Denk. "He is a very reliable rider, performing over the whole season. Besides that, he is used to work for big leaders, and in our team, he will play a key role on the side of Peter Sagan in the spring Classics."

Pete Kennaugh (Team Sky) took his second career win at the Critérium du Dauphiné on Alpe d'Huez on stage seven of the 2017 race, beating his former team-mate and fellow Brit Ben Swift (UAE Team Emirates) to the win.

Kennaugh and Swift had been part of a large breakaway group earlier in the day, and were able to distance their rivals on the slopes of the Col de Sarenne, the alternate route up towards the Alpe d'Huez ski resort.

Swift was unable to stick with Kennaugh however with 3.3km remaining on the final category two ascent to Alpe d'Huez after a brief descent, with 27-year-old Kennaugh able to hold on to take victory by 13 seconds.

Behind, Chris Froome (Team Sky) saw his chances of overall victory slip further away.

With a number of attacks on the final ascent, Froome was unable to stick with race leader Richie Porte (BMC Racing) when he went away with Jakob Fuglsang (Astana), losing 25 seconds to the Australian and slipping to 1-02 down on GC.

How it happened

A 17-man breakaway got away early including Kennaugh and Swift, and the peloton seemed content to let the break's advantage grow.

By the mid-way point of the stage the leading group had 5-10, stretching to a maxiumu of six minutes with BMC setting the pace behind for race leader Porte.

As the breakaway reached the third to final climb, the category two Côte de Garcin with 32km to go, the breakaway had been brought back to around 4-30 with the GC contenders' teams increasing the pace ahead of the summit finish.

King of the mountains Koen Bouwman (LottoNL-Jumbo) led over the Garcin as he had the previous climbs of the day, but the racing really began in earnest on the road towards Alpe d'Huez, the Col de Sarenne, 15.3km in length at an average gradient of 6.9 per cent.

The 17-man group broke up substantially on the climb, with Kennaugh and Swift moving away from a reduced bunch with 1500 metres remaining to the summit.

Meanwhile, behind Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale) attacked a reduced peloton on the slopes of the Sarenne to try and make up some time after losing a large amount of time in the stage five time trial.

He managed to take around 30 seconds on the main peloton as Kennaugh and Swift drifted away up ahead of Jesus Herrada (Movistar), Jelle Vanendert (Lotto-Soudal), Diego Ulissi (UAE-Emirates) and Delio Fernandez (Delko Marseille Provence).

The British pair had 40 seconds on the chasers as the approached the category two version of Alpe d'Huez, a 3.7km climb at 7.2 per cent, with Kennaugh getting away almost immediately on the climb with 3.3km to go.

He was able to hold his advantage over Swift to 13 seconds, and cruised home on the famous summit to take his second career victory at the Dauphiné.

The GC battle didn't ignite until the riders hit Alpe d'Huez. Esteban Chaves (Orica-Scott) and Fabio Aru (Astana) were first to try their luck, with the latter and managing to create and hold a gap.

But with 1500m to go the likes of Porte, Fuglsang and Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) were able to jump across to Aru and put Froome and Alejandor Valerde (Movistar) in trouble.

Race leader Porte was able to then kick again, and Fuglsang was the only one able to stick with him.

The pair crossed the line together, with Porte increasing his lead over Froome who finished 24 seconds back.

Porte will have one stage to navigate to take the overall victory in the Dauphiné, a 115km stage from Albertville to a summit finish on Plateau de Solaison.

Results

Critérium du Dauphiné 2017 stage seven, Aosta - Alpe d'Huez (167.5km)

1 Peter Kennaugh (GBr) Team Sky, in 4-43-49

2 Ben Swift (GBr) UAE-Team Emirates, at 13s

3 Jesus Herrada Lopez (Esp) Movistar Team, at 1-11

4 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Soudal, at 1-13

5 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale, at 1-14

6 Richie Porte (Aus) BMC Racing Team, at 1-56

7 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team

8 Andrew Talansky (USA) Cannondale-Drapac, at 2-04

9 Alberto Contador (Esp) Trek-Segafredo

10 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team, at 2-13

Overall classification after stage seven

1 Richie Porte (Aus) BMC Racing Team, in 25-38-29

2 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky, at 1-02

3 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team, at 1-15

4 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 00:01:41

5 Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Movistar Team, at 1-43

6 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Trek-Segafredo, at 1-55

7 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale, at 2-07

8 Daniel Martin (Irl) Quick-Step Floors, at 2-31

9 Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 2-53

10 Andrew Talansky (USA) Cannondale-Drapac, at 3-43

Twelve into nine doesn’t go. That’s the number of Team Sky riders vying for places on their Giro d’Italia team.

With Geraint Thomas and Mikel Landa already designated as leaders, that leaves 10 riders challenging for seven places, among them Peter Kennaugh, who has made the 100th edition of the corsa rosa his principal target for the first half of this season.

>>> Geraint Thomas: ‘I’ll miss the Classics but my goals are different now’

Together with his coaches, his younger brother Tim Kennaugh and Rod Ellingworth, the Manxman has plotted out a slower start to the season with the Giro very much in mind.

“I’ve done that because I wanted be a bit more consistent,” he tells Cycling Weekly after the Volta a Catalunya summit finish at the La Molina ski station.

“I said that Catalunya was the first race where I wanted to show myself and have good form, and the team have been really good in letting me turn up to races in Mallorca and Valencia with a view to trying to find my form rather than already being in tip-top shape.

"So far it’s all going to plan, but a lot can change in two months.”

Kennaugh’s shredding of the peloton on the La Molina stage suggests his plans are working out.

“I felt good and the team rode well. We were just trying to make the most out of the stage and I was trying to make it as hard as possible for G because we all got a little bit of a taste in the team time trial yesterday of how well he’s going at the moment,” he jokes of teammate Geraint Thomas.

“We gave it a good crack today, which was very good for morale.”

Kennaugh is now on a similar programme to Thomas. Next up is the Tour of the Alps (Giro del Trentino), then Liège-Bastogne-Liège and, if all goes smoothly, the Giro.

“I certainly haven’t done myself any harm the way that I’m going here,” he says of his chances of selection, and Sky head coach Tim Kerrison agrees with Kennaugh’s assessment.

“Pete is one of those who is hoping to ride the Giro, and with that goal in mind he’s not been home for months now. He’s just done a big block at altitude at Isola 2000, which is pretty tough at this time of year because it’s still an operating ski resort, so it takes a bit of commitment to do that. He’s come down to sea level and feels great in this race,” Kerrison confirms.

“It was cold up there the first week, but it was nice after that,” says Kennaugh of his spell at altitude in the French Alps.

“There are one or two challenges when it comes to training up there [at this time of year], but I had my family with me and it’s quite handy having the Team Sky house just an hour-and-a-half’s drive away [in Monaco] as well. If there are any problems, you can just drive down to Nice and train with the boys.”

Watch: Giro d'Italia 2017 essential guide

Now 27, Kennaugh is entering his prime years as a racer. There were indications of that at the Vuelta a España towards the end of last year, when he took the leader’s red jersey on the opening day and was still in contention for a top-10 place on GC until a problematic haemorrhoid had to be treated on the team bus right before the decisive mountain stages.

“It was quite a random injury, if you can call it an injury,” he says.

“I still managed to finish the race off well, but the GC did go out of the window. But that’s what I’m aiming at, to be just like I was today, in the thick of the action when it comes to the hard part of the climb.

“I’m sure if I hadn’t had to do the turn on the front today I would have been in the top-10. It’s knowing and taking confidence from the fact that I can do that that is important. I then need to move forwards with it.”

Sky's Peter Kennaugh is riding high in the Vuelta a España this month and showing, as he says, that he can climb with the best on a good day.

After helping Sky win the time trial and wearing the leader's red jersey, he sits 15th overall. On the Alto del Naranco climb above Oviedo today, he attacked from the leader's group to soften the legs of Chris Froome's rivals.

"It's given me confidence that I can climb with the front guys when I'm on a good day," Kennaugh told Cycling Weekly of the first week's racing through northern Spain.

"Also, it's the first time in a grand tour that I haven't lost time in the first eight days or so. In the Tour in the past, I've always been sitting up on sprint days or the mediocre days just making sure Froome is good and then losing time. It takes a lot more out of you to make sure you don't lose time. That's a learning experience for me."

Kennaugh took the race lead on day one when Sky beat Movistar by a fraction of a second in the time trial. Since then, he's been protecting Froome while showing his talents.

The Vuelta offered him the perfect chance after a crash in the Tour of California resulted in a broken collarbone and ruled him out of the Tour de France team. Now, in Spain's grand tour he plays a crucial role for Froome.

>>> Peter Kennaugh back in ‘the form of his life’ ahead of mountainous Vuelta a España

"I think that up into the rest day I will try to stay there [in the GC] and then after that we will reassess. For the moment, it's worked out perfectly having me and Leo König there. If Froome is in the jersey that may change things and we have to sacrifice more," Kennaugh said.

"If you just look at how the season finished last year for me it was not great. This year, you can sit down with a bit more of a clear head and with clear objectives because you know where you are a bit more. You can plan clearly, whether it’s targeting other races or trying to get back into that Tour team again. That stuff to think about in November."

Kennaugh spun on his turbo trainer while Froome prepared for the stage behind him. This moment, he indicated, was crucial for the year to come with Sky.

"I think it can go two ways, you could think I'm happy with a helper role or you can think, I want to go get my own results. It's whatever motivates you as a rider," Kennaugh explained.

"I definitely want to see where I can go but that doesn't mean do you have to change teams either. Just look at the Geraint Thomas in the Tour, last year he was right up there until the last couple of days. And even here it in the Vuelta, we have set goals but you have a bit of freedom. If you're good enough as a bike rider then you can still have the opportunity to follow your own sort of goals."

Pete Kennaugh did not have to, but he turned to Michal Kwiatkowski in the closing kilometres of the Vuelta a España's stage two and asked him if he wanted a chance to take over his red leader's jersey. Kwiatkowski says that it was thanks to Kennaugh that he was able to take over the lead, which came via fourth place in Baiona.

The Brit took the lead yesterday when he led Team Sky over the line in the opening team time trial. His priority today was to look out for Chris Froome, but once he saw his leader was safe, he hatched a plan with Polish teammate Kwiatkowski.

"I'm very thankful to Pete, who gave me the opportunity to sprint in today's final, to go for the bonus seconds and the win," the 2014 world champion said sitting inside the interview trailer at the finish. "I'm really thankful to the team that it was possible.

"A few kilometres before the final, Pete asked me if I wanted to sprint and I accepted this proposition. He led me out. We were up there in the mix, and we were sure that Chris was safe and out of danger so there was no risk that he would lose time. We could play it like that and I'm really thankful to Pete."

Belgian Gianni Meersman (Etixx–Quick-Step) won the sprint, Kwiatkowski took fourth and Kennaugh 33rd. The jury awarded the red jersey to Kwiatkowski due to his higher placing because they were all on the same time.

Sky won the opening time trial by a fraction of a second over team Movistar. The risk today was that José Joaquín Rojas, of team Movistar, would sprint and take the leader's jersey

"We knew that Rojas could sprint for bonifications today. He was one of the guys two could take the red jersey," added Kwiatkowski. "I was looking at him before the finish, but I decided to go and try to out sprint him. We didn't want to just give up the red jersey for free because we deserve to still keep it after yesterday."

Rojas placed 12th and moved to second overall on the same time with Kwiatkowski. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) sits third and Froome fourth overall.

"For me it's an incredible feeling that I had the opportunity to get the red jersey," Kwiatkowski said. "It's one of the nicest starts to the races that I had. Winning the team time trial with Team Sky is incredible."

Team Sky won the opening the Vuelta a España's team time trial today near Ourense to help Chris Froome try to win the overall, but doing so propelled Pete Kennaugh to the red leader's jersey. He says that it is crazy to think of the attention that has fallen on him now that he is leading the Grand Tour.

>>> Five talking points from stage one of the 2016 Vuelta a España

Sky narrowly beat Movistar by a fraction of a second, both finishing on the same time of 30-37 minutes over 27.8 kilometres in Spain’s northwest. The next best team Orica-BikeExchange with Esteban Chaves and Simon Yates were six seconds behind. Three-time Vuelta a España winner Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) lost 52 seconds.

Kennaugh led Sky over the line - Froome said it was not planned - and became only the seventh Brit in the Vuelta leader's jersey.

"It's crazy to believe that yesterday I was just another rider and now, I'm thrown into the red jersey and getting asked all these questions. It’s pretty surreal at the moment. It's a bit unreal. I can't wait to start tomorrow's race with the leaders jersey.

"Seventh Brit? Yeah, Mark Cavendish had it 2010, I was there too. It's special for me even if it's the 20th Brit the red jersey. I've never seen myself in the leader's jersey in a grand tour any time in the near future, so it's a surprise and it's amazing. I think it'll really sink in tomorrow when we are on the start line in the red jersey. It's a great way to start the last part of my season it's really incredible."

Froome spoke with the press after the stage and complemented Kennaugh, who put on the red jersey with the river in the background and the local wine-producing hills ahead. He said that the team had not planned who would cross the finish line first.

"It definitely was not planned. I was just happy we were going to be in first place because it was within touching distance with Movistar," Kennaugh added.

"I didn't have the best April and I was just getting back in form in May. I always start to come back up towards the end of May and June after the Ardennes Classics, but then I crashed in the Tour of California. But it's a funny old sport with those peaks and troughs. Now, I'm back on top.

>>> Peter Kennaugh back in ‘the form of his life’ ahead of mountainous Vuelta a España

"I've done everything to be here in the last two months I put a bit more pressure on myself when usually I put myself down and try to take the pressure off my shoulders. But this time I was a bit more confident and I took it on."

The Vuelta continues with what could be one of the few sprinters' stages tomorrow in the far northwest above Portugal. Kennaugh will turn his attention to Tour de France winner Froome, who is aiming to add the Vuelta to his palmarès in three weeks' time

"It's back to the day job isn't it? You know what cycling is like this in these days, it is about keeping your leader in position. You have nine classification teams trying to keep their leaders at the front, there's no such thing as a day off. It's a case of keeping Froome out of trouble tomorrow and staying at the front.

"We talked about it yesterday, it's a hundred per cent for Froome. He would be the only guy we were going to wait for today. You might not see the best of him in this first week, but I think in the second and third week and in that time trial in the third week, we are going to see Froome ride into it. He's such a phenomenal rider that you can't start thinking about someone else. It's all for him."

Britain's Peter Kennaugh will wear the red leader's jersey at the Vuelta a España on stage two of the race, after Team Sky won the opening team time trial of the 2016 edition of the race.

Sky beat Movistar by the slimmest of margins, taking the stage win by 0.4 of a second on the finish line in Ourense, north-west Spain. Chris Froome, who leads the Sky squad's GC campaign, crossed the line as the team's fifth man while fellow Brit Kennaugh crossed first.

>>> Five things to look out for at the Vuelta a España

That gave the two-time British champion the overall lead, making him the seventh rider from Great Britain to wear the leader's jersey in the Vuelta. Michael Wright, Robert Millar, David Millar, Mark Cavendish, Chris Froome and Sir Bradley Wiggins are the other riders to lead the Grand Tour in the past.

Etixx-Quick Step set the early benchmark on the hilly 27.8km course, as they became the first team to break the 31-minute barrier with a time of 30-59.

BMC were next to break into the lead with a formidable looking time of 30-44 from the TTT world champions, but that short-lived as Orica-BikeExchange set 30-43.

Movistar, who come to the race with the duel leadership of Nairo Quintana and Alejandro Valverde, looked marginally off the pace in the opening half of the race but made up time in the closing section, setting what looked like the winning time of 30-37.

But Sky, who were the penultimate team off the start ramp, managed to sneak in just inside that time by less than half a second, with Froome desperately holding onto the back of his teammates as they crossed the line.

Alberto Contador's Tinkoff, who were the final team to start, may leave the first stage disappointed as they leave their leader and three-time winner of the Vuelta with a deficit of 52 seconds to make-up to Froome, Quintana and Valverde.

Things didn't go swimmingly for Astana either on the course, as they lost time after their team leader Miguel Angle Lopez dropped his chain early in the race, but the Kazakh team were still able to sneak inside the top-10 with a 58 second deficit to the winners.

But the day belonged to Sky and 27-year-old Kennaugh, who is riding the seventh Grand Tour of his career and his third Vuelta, will now start the second stage, which will take in 160.8km from Ourense Thermal Capital to Baiona, in the red leader's jersey.

Results

Vuelta a España stage one, Ourense, Laias Health Resort - Castrelo de Miño (27.8km team time trial):

1. Team Sky (GBr), in 30-37

2. Movistar (Esp), at same time

3. Orica-BikeExchange (Aus), at 6s

4. BMC Racing (USA), at 7s

5. Etixx-Quick Step (Bel), at 22s

6. Trek-Segafredo (USA), at 50s

7. Cannondale-Drapac, at 52s

8. Tinkoff (Rus), st

9. Bora-Argon 18 (Ger), at 57s

10. Astana (Kaz), at 58s

General classification after stage one

1. Peter Kennaugh (GBr) Team Sky, in 30-37

2. Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Team Sky

3. Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Sky

4. Leopold König (Cze) Team Sky

5. Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky

6. Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Movistar

7. Jonathan Castroviejo (Esp) Movistar

8. Ruben Fernandez (Esp) Movistar

9. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Esp) Movistar

10. Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar, all same time

Peter Kennaugh says he’s ready to prove he can climb with the world’s best at the Vuelta a España when it starts this weekend, after putting the disappointment of having to miss the Olympic Games behind him.

The Team Sky rider is going into mountainous edition of the Spanish Grand Tour, where he will race in support of Chris Froome, in what he called “the form of his life” after recovering the fitness that ruled him out of Olympic contention.

The Team Sky rider was initially named in Team GB’s Rio road race five-man squad but withdrew his name in July, having struggled after breaking his collarbone in May. Steve Cummings replaced him in the Olympics line up.

The 27-year-old raced at the five-stage Vuelta a Burgos instead at the start of August and finished fifth overall, and said that plus a solid block of training has put him in good form ahead of the final Grand Tour of the season.

“I feel like I’m in the form on my life,” he told Cycling Weekly. “In training I’ve felt great on the climbs, I’ve felt stronger than ever. I’m really excited about it and really looking forward to it.

“It’s one of the Grand Tours going into it that I feel the freshest I’ve ever been. I’m just going to take each day as it comes and really tackle each day full gas.”

With 10 summit finishes this year’s Vuelta is one for climbers, and Kennaugh is hoping to show he can consistently perform well across a three-week race. He last competed here in 2014 when Froome finished second, and hasn’t raced a Grand Tour since he was forced to leave the Tour de France early last year with illness.

“First and foremost I’m 100 per cent behind Froomey for the GC and that’s what I want to come here and do – consolidate that place as a climber and not only prove to myself but prove to the team and everyone else that I can climb in that front group,” he continued.

“If I came out of the race having done that I’d be really happy.”

Froome has finished second twice at the Vuelta but has never won it, and is going into the race after a summer where he won bronze in the Olympic Games time trial and secured his third Tour de France title.

Yet Kennaugh believes his team-mate will get stronger as the race progresses, pointing to the 37-kilometre individual time trial on stage 19 as a day that could favour him. Alberto Contador (Tinkoff), Nairo Quintana (Movistar) and Esteban Chaves (Orica-BikeExchange) are among those he will face.

“For him [Froome] it’s probably a case of getting back into that rhythm of racing after all the training and travelling. [We want to] limit our losses as a team on that first week,” he said.

“I think he’ll really come into his own in that second and third week, especially with that time trial towards the back end of the race. You saw in the Olympics how good he is at time trialling compared to the other GC riders.

“It’ll be an interesting race and one that will go all the way to those last couple of days for the GC result.”

The 2016 Vuelta a España starts on Saturday August 20, and now as many as five British riders have been confirmed on the start list.

Tour de France winner Chris Froome is set to lead Team Sky, and he will be backed-up by compatriot Peter Kennaugh.

Simon Yates has been given the nod by Orica-BikeExchange and is likely to be a co-leader with Esteban Chaves.

The fourth British rider in Hugh Carthy, whose Caja Rural-Seguros RGA team were given a wildcard invitation.

The new addition to British contingent is Scott Thwaites, who is listed on Bora-Argon 18's roster ahead of Saturday's opening stage.

British riders at the 2016 Vuelta a España

Chris Froome (Team Sky)

Age: 31

Chris Froome will continue his busy racing schedule by taking the start at the Vuelta. Earlier in the summer, the Team Sky leader successfully defended his Tour de France crown before heading to Brazil to compete in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

The rider looked off his best in the Olympic road race but managed to find his way onto the bottom step of the podium in the time trial.

With two second places and a fourth from previous rides in the Vuelta, Froome has spoken of "unfinished business" in the Spanish race so expect to see him going for the win.

Simon Yates (Orica-BikeExchange)

Age: 24

Simon Yates expected to ride the Tour de France alongside his twin brother Adam, but an admin error over the use of an inhaler resulted in the former receiving a four month ban from racing.

Adam went on to be the breakthrough rider of the Tour, so Simon will no doubt be looking to do the same at the Vuelta.

>>> Simon and Adam Yates extend for two years with Orica-BikeExchange

Lining up alongside Orica teammate Esteban Chaves, Yates will likely have a co-leader role as the Australian team looks to challenge for the GC.

Chaves came second in this year's Giro d'Italia and enjoyed spells in the leader's jersey at the 2015 Vuelta, as well as taking two stage wins.

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Hugh Carthy (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA)

Age: 22

Hugh Carthy will be at the Vuelta thanks to his Spanish Caja Rural-Seguros RGA team being granted one of the wildcard slots for this year's race.

The young British rider is a strong climber so will be in the mix in the mountains, and will surely challenge for stage wins.

The 22-year-old will make the leap up top WorldTour next season with a move to Cannondale-Drapac, so the final Grand Tour of 2016 should give us an indication of his potential on the biggest stage.

Scott Thwaites (Bora-Argon 18)

Age: 26

Making his Grand Tour debut, Scott Thwaites is known for his aggressive riding in the Spring Classics so expect to see him challenging for stage wins.

Thwaites's best result came at Le Samyn in March when he attacked but couldn't hold off Niki Terpstra (Etixx-Quick Step), and crossed the line second.

The team, which will be called Bora-Hansgrohe from next season, is stepping up to WorldTour ans has already announced the signing of world champion Peter Sagan.

Peter Kennaugh (Team Sky)

Age: 27

Peter Kennaugh dropped out of the Olympic Games after he struggled to find form following an injury.

Hi return to racing will see him working for Team Sky leader Froome during the three-week race, a role he has played before at the Tour de France.

Peter Kennaugh put his country before himself on Tuesday, withdrawing himself from Olympic selection to be replaced by Steve Cummings for the road race.

The Manxman, who broke his collarbone in a crash at the Amgen Tour of California in May, says his decision to step down was based on his lack of fitness after that injury.

“I did everything I possibly could to be in shape for the Rio Olympic Games with the time I had after breaking my collarbone at the Tour of California in May," Kennaugh said in a statement.

"Unfortunately I just didn’t feel at the level needed to compete at the Olympics and I didn’t want to be on the start line at 70 per cent as it wouldn’t be fair on the team or myself, especially when you have other guys who are in the form of their lives and it’s about having the best five guys there on the day. I wish all my team mates good luck on both road and track at Rio.

"I still have plenty of other goals for the rest of the season and am really motivated to get some more results before the season is over. My next races will be San Sebastián on July 30 and then Vuelta a Burgos starting on August 2.”

>>> Comment: Team GB has got it right for Rio – and just in time

Kennaugh won gold on the track at London 2012, riding the team pursuit alongside Geraint Thomas, Ed Clancy and Steven Burke.

Cummings will replace Kennaugh in the Olympic road race on August 6 and could be a reserve for the time trial four days later if Chris Froome is unable to ride.

By Thomas Parker

In what is a battle of the Postal Peters, if the Peter Sagan postage stamps didn't float your boat, then maybe Isle of Man's stamps depicting Pete Kennaugh will.

As the 2016 Rio Olympic Games comes ever closer, the Isle of Man Post Office have unveiled a new range of stamps, commemorating the 2012 Olympic Games sporting achievements - including one of the GB gold medal winning team pursuit squad, featuring Kennaugh.

Kennaugh, of course, is not the only cyclist to be the subject of this bizarre honouring fad, as the Slovakian post office unveiled stamps in April in honour of Sagan's world championship triumph last September.

300,000 stamps were made to celebrate the Slovak's achievement of becoming the young nation's first ever road racing world champion, and cementing his place as both as Slovakia’s greatest bike rider and one of the country’s greatest ever athletes.

You can buy the Great Britain stamps at the Isle of Man Post Office and their website for £1.27. And for all you stamp collecting, cycle loving folk, you can get hold of a special, limited edition Sir Chris Hoy Rio 2016 Olympic Games Envelope, which is released on June 16, at the price of £39.99.

We're off to add to our stamp collection...

British road race champion Peter Kennaugh (Team Sky) could be out of action for several weeks after breaking his collarbone in a crash at the Tour of California on Tuesday.

Kennaugh was caught in an incident with French sprinter Bryan Coquard (Direct Energie) just as the bunch were about to navigate the final climb on stage three of the race.

Kennaugh had been sat near the front of the group behind two Sky team-mates when the crash occurred. He fell heavily and was then seen clutching his right arm. He was subsequently taken to hospital for checks and was forced to abandon the race.

>>> Julian Alaphilippe takes Tour of California lead as Peter Kennaugh crashes out

Team Sky doctor Derick Macleod said that checks confirmed the fracture. "Pete attended the Santa Barbara Hospital and X-rays confirmed his right clavicle is fractured," said Macleod.

"He lost some skin from his shoulder and elbow, but sustained no other injuries. He is now in a sling and getting pain relief and the plan is for him to return to the UK on Wednesday, with a view to seeing a shoulder specialist as soon as possible."

Sky will now look for stage wins in California with Dutch sprinter Danny van Poppel and seek a high overall placing with Norwegian Lars Petter Nordhaug, although he is currently in 30th place overall and 4-24 behind stage three winner and new race leader Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx-QuickStep).

Watch: Peter Kennaugh's Pinarello

Kennaugh has only just returned to racing after a spell of illness leading up to the Tour of California, and was Sky's leader in the race. Until further assessments are made, it is unclear when he will return to racing.

The Manxman's injury was a double blow for Sky on Tuesday. Just hours earlier they suffered a major setback at the Giro d'Italia when the British team's GC contender Mikel Landa quit due to illness.

Peter Kennaugh is ready to “get stuck into racing” at the Tour of California this weekend, despite his form being unknown, after spending much of the last couple of months out ill.

The Manxman fell ill just after Milan-San Remo in mid-March and was off the bike at home for most of April. He returned to form at the Tour de Yorkshire at the end of last month, where he finished 37th overall and helped his Sky teammate Nicolas Roche into second.

“California that will be a bit of an unknown,” Kennaugh told Cycling Weekly. “There’s no reason I can’t get stuck into a bit of racing and sort of try and get in the mix a bit there, but at the same time I’m not going to set my sights too high.

“I just want to go there, get back to bike racing really, trying to perform but not put too much pressure on myself.”

Watch: Peter Kennuagh's Tour de France Pinarello Dogma F8

Despite a successful start to the season, in which the 26-year-old secured victories in Australia at the Great Ocean Road Race and a stage of the Herald Sun Tour and second overall, illness forced him almost completely off the bike.

“Through Tirreno [Adriatico, in March] I had general sort of sickness, a cold and stuff, and then carried that through to San Remo. I came home after San Remo and got quite ill.

“I’ve been really struggling, just sort of felt really empty on the bike,” he said.

“It happens it seems every April it seems, I come down with this bug, low in energy and feeling really empty — it happens almost every year and I don’t really know what it is.

“From past experiences from this time of year I know I’ve just got to weather it and then I kind of always get things back on track in May, and then go into June and July really good.”

After California, it is undecided whether the Team Sky rider will race at the Tour de Suisse or Criterium du Dauphiné — the latter he won a stage at last year.

British riders Peter Kennaugh, Andy Fenn and Alex Peters have been selected by Team Sky to take part in the 2016 Amgen Tour of California, starting on May 15.

The trio of Brits will be joined by Norwegian 2015 Tour de Yorkshire champion Lars Petter Nordhaug, Belarusian Vasil Kiryienka, Italian Gianni Moscon, Spaniard Xabier Zandio and Dutch sprinter Danny van Poppel.

Fenn, Kennaugh, Nordhaug and van Poppel transfer to America from this year's edition of the Tour de Yorkshire, which finished on May 1.

>>> Tour of California 2016: Latest news, reports and info

British road race champion Kennaugh was a regular fixture at the front of the pack during the Tour de Yorkshire, setting the pace and helping to chase breaks down. The squad's Nicolas Roche ended the TdY in second spot, six seconds behind overall winner Thomas Voeckler (Direct Energie).

Kennaugh finished the 2015 Tour of California in ninth position behind overall winner Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) and is therefore one of Sky's strongest options for a good GC placing alongside Nordhaug. Kennaugh won the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race and a stage of the Herald Sun Tour in Australia in January and February.

>>> Bradley Wiggins to ride 2016 Amgen Tour of California

Sagan returns to California to defend his title, and is joined by another former winner in the shape of Sir Bradley Wiggins (Team Wiggins), who won in 2014.

Colombian Sergio Henao was Sky's top finisher in 2015 in third place, but is currently withdrawn from racing as his biological passport values are investigated.

Watch: Inside Team Sky's training camp

Van Poppel will provide firepower in the sprints, where he will come up against former Sky rider Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data), who took four stages and the sprint classification in 2015.

The UCI 2.HC-ranked Amgen Tour of California starts in San Diego on Sunday, May 15, and concludes in Sacramento on Sunday, May 22.

The race features a 20.3km individual time trial on stage six and a testing summit finish on stage three, both of which will shape the general classification.

Emma Pooley says that the reaction on Twitter to Pete Kennaugh's tweets saying that no one cared about the women's Giro d'Italia is evidence that people actually do want to watch more women's cycling.

Responding to Pooley's comments in a Guardian article which questioned why Sky didn't also create a leading women's team that could have helped her to win the Giro d'Italia Femminile, Kennaugh said that Sky wouldn't financially back such a team because it is a race that "absolutely no one in the UK has absolutely no idea about."

The two-time and current British road race champion has since deleted his tweets and issued an apology.

"The response to what Pete Kennaugh said on Twitter was people saying that they do care about women’s cycling and they want to see more of it and that’s exactly the point of it [her comments]," Pooley told Cycling Weekly on the eve of the Asda Women's Tour de Yorkshire, the first road race she has competed in since winning silver at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

>>> How British Cycling's nightmare week unfolded

"The point is not whether I would have won it or not, it’s whether little girls are watching cycling and are inspired to go cycling. The point is the trickle down effect of grassroots sport.

"He is welcome to his opinion. The response to what he said was more educational and said more than what he said himself."

Pooley finished second on GC in both the 2011 and 2012 Giro before winning three stages on 2014. She told the Guardian that Sky should have set up a women's team to go alongside the men's WorldTour outfit, but believes her comments were distorted.

All you need to know about the Tour de Yorkshire

"I felt I was misrepresented in the article because it made out that I was angry that I never got the support to win the Giro," she said.

"That wasn’t the point I was trying to make. I was trying to give a counter example to the men’s Tour de France and the Sky team, in the fact that there wasn’t a women’s one.

"But it made out that I was like ‘I wanted to win the Giro, [but] no one give me support’ but that wasn’t what I was trying to say.

>>> British Cycling denies kit funded by UK Sport has been sold for profit

"The comments I made in the press was that I do think there was an unfairness and discrepancy with the general support of the road squad.

"For a while there wasn’t a women’s development team - even though I would never have raced in a U23 squad because I only started when I was 22 - but I thought on principle that Sky should have supported a women’s team as well.

"I said that in 2012 as well and I wasn’t only the one; I wasn’t some kind of mad radical.  A lot of people questioned why there wasn’t a women’s team and I think the question has to be asked of the people who ran the Sky team and British Cycling."

After a week of sexism and discrimination allegations against British Cycling and its staff, Pooley - who is targeting selection for this year's time trial at the Rio Olympics - was keen on emphasising that she had never encountered sexism from the national governing body's staff.

She added: "That [sexism] is not an accusation you can level at any individual coach or scientist at British Cycling. They all do a brilliant job. They really don’t care what’s under your skinsuit, they just want you to win a medal.

"I have never felt that British Cycling was sexist in what they offered me in terms of support for the Olympics. I just think that, though it sounds heartless, they just care about medals. That’s their job description."

British road race national champion Peter Kennaugh has continued his rise up the UCI World Ranking, moving from eighth to sixth place after winning a stage and placing second overall in the Herald Sun Tour.

The Team Sky rider leapt into the top 10 of the newly-introduced World Ranking last week after he won the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race. Now he leapfrogs German sprinter André Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) to sit in sixth.

Herald Sun Tour winner Chris Froome (Sky) joins the ranking in 27th place.

Tour Down Under winner Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEdge) still tops the ranking, with fellow Australians Richie Porte (BMC) and Jay McCarthy (Tinkoff) in second and third.

New in the top 10 this week is Dubai Tour winner Marcel Kittel (Etixx-QuickStep) in eighth, and Fabian Cancellara (Trek-Segafredo) in 10th.

>>> Watch: Chris Froome in full attack mode as he wins the Herald Sun Tour (video)

With the top of the individual rider ranking still dominated by Australian riders, it's no surprise to see the country retain its place at the top of the nation ranking. Great Britain moves up to sixth thanks to Kennaugh and Froome's performance in the Herald Sun Tour.

The UCI’s World Ranking was first published on January 11, 2016, and is updated every Monday. It takes account of points allocated from races in the UCI International Road Calendar, which includes events in the WorldTour, Continental Circuits, World and National Championships, Olympic Games and Continental Games. It runs concurrently with the WorldTour ranking.

Next week's updated ranking will include results from the Tour of Qatar, which started on Monday, February 8, and concludes on Friday, February 12.

Watch: Top WorldTour contenders for 2016

UCI World Ranking (as at February 8 2016)

1. Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge 755 points

2. Richie Porte (Aus) BMC Racing 485 points

3. Jay McCarthy (Aus) Tinkoff 370 points

4. Sergio Henao (Col) Team Sky 350 points

5. King Lok Cheung (HKg) 320 points

6. Peter Kennaugh (GBr) Team Sky 316 points

7. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Soudal 250 points

8. Marcel Kittel (Ger) Etixx-QuickStep 245 points

9. Michael Woods (Can) Cannondale 245 points

10. Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Trek-Segafredo 225 points

It's been a pretty decent last seven days for Team Sky, with the boys in black and blue racking up as many wins as some WorldTour teams will get in a season.

Competing on multiple fronts is one of the hardest parts of running a professional cycling team - one race will usually have to take precedence over the others.

But Sky made it look simple in the three races - on three different continents - they entered last week, claiming two overall wins, two other overall podiums, five stage wins and six other podiums.

Such is the strength in depth that Sky possess this season that they were able to field three equally strong teams with bona fide leaders and strong domestiques capable of securing results themselves.

Wednesday, February 3

Wout Poels sprung one of the minor shocks of the young season by dominating the undulating time trial around Benicassim at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, beating teammate and world time trial champion Vasil Kiryienka by 21 seconds.

The overall classification looked Poels' to lose, with his 15 second cushion over Luis Leon Sanchez leaving him in a great position, but with a couple of summit finishes in the rest of the race, the Dutchman could not afford to take it easy.

In Dubai, meanwhile, Elia Viviani started with an eighth place on stage one - not great for his standards, considering the riders he was up against (sprinters from One Pro Cycling and Skydive Dubai finished ahead of him), but considering his sights are set on the World Track Championships in March, it's not surprising to see him start slowly on the road.

Down Under, at the Herald Sun Tour, Chris Froome started his season with a solid 27th place in the 2km opening prologue. Teammate Peter Kennaugh fared slightly better in Melbourne, finishing eighth.

Thursday, February 4

A great day of results for the British team begun when Kennaugh marched to his second win of the season in Australia. Having already won the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, he and Chris Froome went solo in the first 'proper' stage of the Sun Tour, claiming a one-two in Healesville.

Inspired by his teammates' success Viviani took advantage of a crash in the peloton with two kilometres to go in Dubai to win stage two of the race - the same thing he did in the race last year.

Then, in the summit finish in Valencia, Poels watched Etixx-Quick Step's Dan Martin roll over the line for the win, but ensured he stayed in the leader's jersey by finishing third, just two seconds down on the Irishman.

Friday, February 5

A quiet day, by recent standards. No wins and only one podium finish - through Kennaugh in Australia.

The Manxman kept hold of his leader's jersey in the wonderfully named Moe, finishing three seconds behind sprinter Caleb Ewan.

Viviani didn't even bother attempting to sprint with the big boys up the Hatta Dam in Dubai, finishing 32 seconds down on winner Juan Jose Lobato. While the climb is steep, it's short enough that the fastmen can get up it, shown by Marcel Kittel's sixth-place finish.

In Valencia, Poels navigated a sprint stage with ease to hold on to his jersey for another day.

Saturday, February 6

Poels could have just ridden defensively to retain his jersey in Valencia, but the Dutchman wasn't satisfied to just sit on other peoples' wheels.

Instead he launched an attack of his own up Xorret del Cati - the summit finish at the end of stage four. He opened up a 23-second gap by the top, with teammate Beñat Intxausti pipping Ion Izagirre (Movistar) to second to move up to third overall. Poels' lead increased to 46 seconds over Sanchez.

In Dubai, Viviani was in the hunt for the win under the gigantic Burj Khalifa but had to settle for second behind the gigantic Kittel.

Sunday, February 7

A little bit of controversy crept into the camp on the final day of Sky's remarkable run. Despite having said earlier in the week that he was happy to play domestique to Kennaugh, Froome went and trumped his mate by winning the queen stage in the Sun Tour to snatch the overall win.

Froome smashed it up Arthur's Seat to leapfrong Kennaugh in the standings, cruising home with a 29-second gap over the Manxman. A win's a win, but what toll will it take on the team dynamics?

In Valencia, Poels didn't have to do much to seal his overall win, what with the flat-ish nature of the final stage. He cruised home in the bunch to win by 46 seconds, with Intxausti in third overall, 10 seconds back on Sanchez.

Chris Froome sealed the overall victory in the Jayco Herald Sun Tour in Australia on Sunday, after Sky team-mate Peter Kennaugh relinquished the race lead during a hot and fast final day.

Kennaugh led the race going into stage four, which featured three ascents of the decisive Arthurs Seat climb. As the day unfolded, Froome found himself in a position to take the stage win and overall lead as Kennaugh was further behind.

After attacking on the second ascent of Arthurs Seat in an attempt to claim the King of the Mountains points, Froome found himself out front with KOM rival Joe Cooper (Avanti-IsoWhey). The duo continued to ride ahead of the bunch, but by the third and final ascent of Arthurs Seat, Froome had gone solo to take the win as the peloton splintered behind him.

>>> Five talking points from the Herald Sun Tour

It's the 30-year-old British rider's first victory of the season, and the first since winning the 2015 Tour de France. It's also the first time a British rider has won the Herald Sun Tour since Bradley Wiggins' victory in 2009.

Manxman Kennaugh came home in seventh place to take second place overall behind Froome, with Damien Howson (Orica-GreenEdge) in third overall. Froome also topped the King of the Mountains classification after his efforts on Arthurs Seat.

“We couldn’t have asked for a better week as a team with Pete [Kennaugh] kicking things off earlier on going into the leader’s jersey, first and second on that stage and then obviously winning today - the final stage up Arthurs Seat,” Froome said after the stage.

Froome also explained Sky's tactics, which saw him take over the lead from his team-mate on a hectic day: “It’s never easy. Even a day like today it’s never easy to win a bike race, even if you’re against people you don’t really know. You’ve got to turn yourself inside out for the result. As much as an eight-minute climb can hurt, it did.”

Kennaugh was evidently disappointed not to have continued his run in the race lead until the race's conclusion.

“It was really quick,” Kennaugh said of the stage's pace. “120km of flat-out racing all the way. It was hot. I’m a bit gutted not to win but Froomey won and he was the strongest throughout the race so he deserves the win.

“I’m really happy with my stage win at the start and the way I’ve started the season so, I think happy days for Froomey today and happy days for the team all round.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAOgpjXY0dE

Kennaugh was involved in a spat during the stage with Australian Pat Shaw (Avanti IsoWhey), and the two riders exchanged words – something which had apparently started during the recent Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, won by Kennaugh.

“That’s sport I guess. It happens but there’s no need for it in the peloton," said Kennaugh.

>>> Watch: Peter Kennaugh and Caleb Ewan battle for Herald Sun Tour stage win

Shaw's sports director, Andrew Christie-Johnson, gave his perspective on the incident, saying: "There’s nothing to it other than it’s a blue that you’d have in a school yard and that’s the way it is.

"There was nothing more than what Kennaugh had said to two or three of our riders over the other days. Froomey acknowledged that they’ve got someone who’s a bit of a hothead and at the same time, so do we."

Results

Jayco Herald Sun Tour, stage four: Arthurs Seat to Arthurs Seat, 122km

1. Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky in 2-58-44

2. Damien Howson (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge at 17 secs

3. Jonathan Clarke (Aus) UnitedHealthcare at 21 secs

4. Christopher Hamilton (Aus) KordaMentha-Australia at 29 secs

5. Robbie Hucker (Aus) Avanti-IsoWhey

6. Jack Haig (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge at same time

7. Peter Kennaugh (GBr) Team Sky at 32 secs

8. Jack Bobridge (Aus) Trek-Segafredo at 36 secs

9. Anthony Giacoppo (Aus) Avanti-IsoWhey at 41 secs

10. Dion Smith (NZl) One Pro Cycling at 43 secs

Final general classification

1. Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky in 12-53-00

2. Peter Kennaugh (GBr) Team Sky at 29 secs

3. Damien Howson (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge at 1-01

4. Jack Bobridge (Aus) Trek-Segafredo at 1-04

5. Jack Haig (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge at 1-14

6. Jonathan Clarke (Aus) UnitedHealthcareat 1-15

7. Robbie Hucker (Aus) Avanti-IsoWhey at 1-20

8. Christopher Hamilton (Aus) KordaMentha-Australia at 1-23

9. Anthony Giacoppo (Aus) Avanti-IsoWhey at 1-32

10. Dion Smith (NZl) One Pro Cycling at 1-32

In-form Australian sprinter Caleb Ewan (Orica-GreenEdge) secured the victory on stage two of the 2016 Jayco Herald Sun Tour in Australia - but it wasn't from the expected bunch sprint.

Ewan was part of a six-rider break that had formed in the final 10 kilometres as the race traversed a loop around Moe, leaving him to battle it out with the overall contenders.

Also in the group was race leader and previous day's stage winner Peter Kennaugh, Tour de France champion Chris Froome (both Sky), Australian champion Jack Bobridge, Jack Haig (both Orica-GreenEdge) and Tanner Putt (Untiedhealthcare).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuYTElooU2w

Mindful of not being able to beat Ewan in a sprint finish, both Kennaugh and Bobridge launched attacks to try and take the stage and gain time. However, Ewan and Orica team-mate Haig reeled them in, and the six were back together as they hit the final kilometre.

Ewan launched his sprint, and only Putt followed, but simply couldn't beat the 21-year-old Ewan, who notched up his eighth win of 2016.

"It was much tougher than the usual sprint finishes that I’ve been used to this summer," Ewan said after the stage.

"On the final climb I knew Bobridge and Kennaugh were strong, they've proven that so I knew couldn't let them get a gap over the top. I fought for dear life and was able to stay with them."

Kennaugh came home for third place, with Froome in fourth. Kennaugh leads Froome by 13 seconds overall, with Bobridge moving up to third at 31 seconds.

>>> Alex Dowsett hopes to beat Chris Froome to GB’s only time trial place at Rio 2016

"It was always going to be hard to shake Caleb off and I thought I could catch him off guard but he stuck to my wheel," said Kennaugh.

"In the end I just stayed on the front and rode in. I could see that I had dropped Bobridge and I thought it was a good chance to get bonus seconds and also extend my lead.

"I’m quite excited for Sunday’s race to be honest hopefully we can just take it up on the climb and either me or Froome will be up for another stage win."

Froome and the rest of Sky had controlled the race before it split: "I expected a big bunch sprint so, it was a bit more selective than that. It was a good day out there, the guys did a great job controlling for us. Pete in third place again, we’re happy with that.

"I was a little bit tired after yesterday’s effort, but it was still a good day in the saddle - another good stage down."

>>> Watch: Chris Froome and Peter Kennaugh destroy the field at the Herald Sun Tour

Froome had worn the black and yellow jersey of King of the Mountains during the stage, but lost it to Chris Harper (State of Matter). The latter had scooped up the day's climbing points first in a break with Yuma Koishi (Nippo-Vini Fantini), and then later on his own.

Saturday's penultimate stage from Traralgon to Inverloch is expected to end in a bunch sprint, with Sunday's finale including a three ascents of the tough Arthur's Seat climb to provide one last opportunity to shake up the general classification.

Results

Herald Sun Tour 2016, stage two: Yarra Glen to Moe, 144km

1. Caleb Ewan (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge in 3-29-06

2. Tanner Putt (USA) Unitedhealthcare at same time

3. Peter Kennaugh (GBr) Team Sky at 3 secs

4. Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky at 5 secs

5. Jack Bobridge (Aus) Trek-Seagfredo at same time

6. Jack Haig (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge at 14 secs

7. Niccolo Bonifazio (Ita) Trek-Sagfredo at 25 secs

8. John Mjurphy (USA) Unitedhealthcare

9. Patrick Shaw (Aus) Avanti IsoWhey Sport

10. Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Trek-Segafredo at same time

Overall classification after stage two

1. Peter Kennaugh (GBr) Team Sky in 6-33-21

2. Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky at 13 secs

3. Jack Bobridge (Aus) Trek-Seagfredo at 31 secs

4. Jack Haig (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge at 48 secs

5. Dion Smith (NZl) One Pro Cycling at 52 secs

It's not often that you see a Tour de France contender flex their muscles so early in the racing season, but that's exactly what Chris Froome did as he guided Sky teammate Peter Kennaugh to the stage win and race lead at the Herald Sun Tour.

Froome put in his attack on the final categorised climb of stage one 30km from the finish with Kennaugh in tow, just after the day's break had been reeled in, with the British pair then quickly putting time into the peloton behind.

>>> Chris Froome happy playing super-domestique to ‘repay’ Peter Kennaugh

“We had had a good plan for today’s stage, which worked out perfectly. It was to make it hard going into that last climb for Froomey to have a go and I then I was just to follow wheels and judge the situation, and if I felt like I could jump across to him then do that,” Kennaugh said after the race.

The result leaves the Manxman in charge of the GC with seven seconds over Froome by virtue of the opening prologue on Wednesday, with Dion Smith of British team One Pro Cycling the next best placed rider in third, 23 seconds back.

Peter Kennaugh is leading the Jayco Herald Sun Tour after winning the first road stage ahead of Sky teammate Chris Froome in what was a fine display of sportsmanship.

The British pair had time to consider each other with a wave of respect as they approached the finish line in Healesville 17 seconds clear of Dion Smith (One Pro Cycling), who won a reduced group sprint for third.

“It was Froome, not me,” the Manxman said as he recovered in a huddle with teammates just past the line.

The triumph comes less than a week after the 26-year-old capitalised on a free role and claimed line honours at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.

“Last weekend’s race was all about racing and getting out there but today was back to work, back to business,” Kennaugh said.

“We had a strategy, we stuck to it and it worked. I’ve got to take my hat off to Froomey because there’s a lot of guys in his position who wouldn’t help their teammates out like that. It was an awesome day for the team all around. It’s nice to come to these kind of races and be able to race like this. It makes a nice change.”

Sky was flawless in its race plan execution during the 126.1km undulating stage that comprised two circuits that each featured a categorised climb.

The outfit had signalled its intent earlier in the day helping Drapac to control the pace at the front of the peloton, which did not allow a six-man break, including Kristian House (One Pro), Alistair Slater (JLT Condor p/b Mavic), Nick Kastsonis (State of Matter / MAAP), Giacomo Berlato (Nippo-Vini Fantini), Craig Evers (Data#3 Cisco Racing p/b Scody) and Ben Hill (Attaque Team Gusto), more than four minutes.

Sky turned on the burners in the approach to the last climb some 30km from the finish and had the remnants of the break in its sights before the King of the Mountain prime.

Just as it had been announced that the race was altogether, Froome attacked with Kennaugh following the two-time Tour de France champion. Overnight leader Will Clarke (Drapac) lost contact with the peloton over the prime.

>>> Chris Froome seeking Herald Sun Tour win for Team Sky

“We had had a good plan for today’s stage, which worked out perfectly. It was to make it hard going into that last climb for Froomey to have a go and I then I was just to follow wheels and judge the situation, and if I felt like I could jump across to him then do that,” Kennaugh explained.

“Massive thanks to the team and especially to Froomey because once I got across to him I pretty much sat on his wheel the whole way up the climb.”

The British pair swapped turns on the descent with a chase group of three including Jonathan Clarke (UnitedHealthcare), Benjamin Dyball (KordaMenta Australian National Team) and Damien Howson (Orica-GreenEdge) in pursuit.

The time gap wavered but at the end of the descent Kennaugh and Froome were able to pull away further. Kennaugh said the pair were confident of a victory with five kilometres remaining and swung into the finishing straight with no one else in sight.

Kennaugh gestured to Froome on the approach to the line before the latter extended his arm in applause of the British national champion, who pointed to his jersey as he took the win.

Sky will now aim to hold onto the race lead until the final stage on Sunday. Kennaugh has a seven second advantage to Froome and 23 seconds to Smith ahead of tomorrow’s 144.2km run from Yarra Glen to Moe.

“I think the next two stages are probably sprint days; we’ve got a strong team and obviously Orica-GreenEdge want to keep it together for Caleb [Ewan],” Kennaugh said. “So it’ll be down to that last day and I think that will suit me more than today with this climb being shorter and punchier.”

Meanwhile, Lucas Hamilton from the Australia national team was a casualty on the first road stage of the race and had to abandon following a crash.

Results

Jayco Herald Sun Tour 2016, stage one: Healesville to Healesville, 126.1km

1. Peter Kennaugh (GBr) Sky 3-01-47

2. Chris Froome (GBr) Sky same time

3. Dion Smith (Nzl) One Pro Cycling at 17 secs

4. Anthony Giacoppo (Aus) Avanti Isowhey Sports same time

5. Jack Haig (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge

6. Jack Bobridge (Aus) Trek-Segafredo

7. Adam Phelan (Aus) Drapac

8. Alistair Donohoe (Aus) KordaMentha Australian National Team

9. Damiano Cunego (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini

10. Christian Meyer (Can) Orica-GreenEdge

Overall Classification after stage one

1. Peter Kennaugh (GBr) Sky 3-04-16

2. Chris Froome (GBr) Sky at 7 secs

3. Dion Smith (Nzl) One Pro Cycling at 23 secs

4. Robbie Hucker (Aus) Avanti Isowhey Sports at 25 secs

5. Joseph Cooper (Nzl) Avanti Isowhey Sports at 26 secs

6. Damien Howson (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge at 27 secs

7. Anthony Giacoppo (Aus) Avanti Isowhey Sports same time

8. Jack Bobridge (Aus) Trek-Segafredo at 28 secs

9. Nathan Earle (Aus) Drapac same time

10. Chris Hamilton (Aus) KordaMentha Australian National Team

Peter Kennaugh has jumped up into eighth spot in the latest UCI World Ranking after winning the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race in Australia on Sunday.

The Manxman of Team Sky gathered up enough points after his memorable solo victory to move up from 178th to eighth in the ranking, which is topped by Tour Down Under winner Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEdge).

Currently, the top three of the ranking is composed of Australian riders. After Gerrans, Richie Porte (BMC) is second and Jay McCarthy (Tinkoff) third.

>>> Tweets of the week: Tony Martin, Fabian Cancellara, Ben Swift and more

German sprinter André Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) makes his first appearance in the ranking after winning two days of the Challenge Mallorca.

Greipel's fellow Challenge Mallorca winners Fabian Cancellara (Trek-Segafredo) and Gianluca Brambilla (Etixx-QuickStep) sit in 10th and 14th places. GP Marsellaise winner Dries Devenyns (IAM Cycling) enters the table in 25th.

Needless to say, Australia is currently the top-ranked nation by a huge margin ahead of Italy and Colombia. Great Britain is eighth, thanks largely to Kennaugh's points.

>>> Peter Kennaugh wins Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race

The UCI’s newly-introduced World Ranking was first published on January 11 and is published every Monday. It takes account of points allocated from races in the UCI International Road Calendar, which includes events in the WorldTour, Continental Circuits, World and National Championships, Olympic Games and Continental Games. It runs concurrently with the WorldTour ranking.

It's likely that next week's ranking – published on Monday, February 8 – will look very different, with the Dubai Tour, Herald Sun Tour and Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana all taking place within the next seven days.

Watch: Men's WorldTour contenders for 2016

UCI World Ranking (as at February 1 2016)

1. Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge 670 points

2. Richie Porte (Aus) BMC Racing 485 points

3. Jay McCarthy (Aus) Tinkoff 370 points

4. Sergio Henao (Col) Team Sky 350 points

5. King Lok Cheung (HKg) 320 points

6. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Soudal 250 points

7. Michael Woods (Can) Cannondale 245 points

8. Peter Kennaugh (GBr) Team Sky 205 points

9. Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Lampre-Merida 200 points

10. Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Etixx-QuickStep 185 points

Peter Kennaugh capitalised on a rare opportunity to win the second edition of the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race on Sunday.

The 26-year-old marked a fine solo victory at the end of the 173.9km race finishing six seconds ahead of Leigh Howard (IAM) and Niccolo Bonifazio (Trek-Segafredo), who spearheaded a 19-man chase group.

Mark Cavendish made a low-key road season debut with new team Dimension Data at the event, withdrawing during the final lap where compatriot Kennaugh launched his winning attack.

>>> Mark Cavendish makes Dimension Data debut: ‘I didn’t do any worse than I imagined’

The one-day race presents a rare opportunity for Kennaugh and Team Sky contemporaries to embrace a free role at the start of a season majority dedicated to supporting teammates.

“It’s amazing the feeling of being able to race properly for myself,” the Manxman said post-race. “The domestique work, it’s great and rewarding but sometimes you can get a bit lost in the sport and why you were doing it in the first place.

“When you think back to juniors and under-23s it wasn’t so business, it wasn’t you have to be here at this point of the race, you have to be there at that point of the race, you just jumped on your bike and cracked on. That’s what I’m best at, when I’m left to my own devices.

“Coming to these kind of races you’ve got to make the most of the opportunities so when you go to the bigger races maybe you can have more of a free role.”

There was little cooperation on the road between teams and as such the race scenario consistently changed with weather less of a variable this year than last.

>>> Cavendish to make Dimension Data bow at Great Ocean Road Race

Kennaugh kept his nerve on a 20.2km finishing circuit in Geelong, which riders lapped three times following a 113.7km out and back loop that encompassed the Surf Coast.

He was one of 12 riders that got clear within the final 30km where an aggressive Rafael Valls (Lotto Soudal) attacked the leaders before Cameron Meyer (Dimension Data) accelerated to join the Spaniard, with Kennaugh’s team-mate Salvatore Puccio on his wheel.

The race regrouped and Sky and BMC moved to the fore of a decimated peloton leading into the final lap, swallowing a four-man chase in pursuit of the three race leaders.

Kennaugh jumped at the base of the Challambra Ave climb, bridging across to those left in front and then leaving them in his wake as he charged up the steep ascent. He maintained about a 20 second advantage as he led the race for the final 12km to the finish, looking over his shoulder only once.

“Luke [Rowe] was always on the radio to me,” he said. “When I was away with just over a lap to go and even leading up to this race he was like, ‘do not do anything until the last lap,’ because last year I came through here off the front on my own with like 80km to go, so I’ve got him to thank for that.

“I’ve been working with my brother, Tim Kennaugh, he’s been coaching me since November and working closely with [Sky coach] Rod Ellingworth,” he continued. “It’s the first winter where I’ve had real structure to my training and it helped massively in that final 10km when I was able to hold that pace. I would never have been able to do that a year ago, or two years ago.

“It’s been hard but obviously rewarding today.”

Pat Lane (Avanti Isowhey Sports) marked a noteworthy performance with his attack in the hard and fast start in Geelong, Victoria sticking. The Australian spearheaded an initial six-man break, including Kristian House (One Pro Cycling), Alessandro De Marchi (BMC), Morgan Smith (Kenyan Riders Down Under), Adrian Hegyvary (UnitedHealthcare) and Josh Berry (St George Merida), that led the race out to the coast. He and De Marchi stayed out at the front of affairs until the final 40km.

Result

Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race

1. Peter Kennaugh (GBr) Team Sky 4-04-59

2. Leigh Howard (Aus) IAM Cycling at 6secs

3. Niccolò Bonifazio (Ita) Trek-Segafredo

4. Pim Ligthart (Ned) Lotto - Soudal

5. Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica GreenEdge

6. Nathan Haas (Aus) Dimension Data

7. Alexey Tsatevich (Rus) Katusha

8. Ben Swift (GBr) Team Sky

9. Enrico Battaglin (Ita) LottoNL-Jumbo

10. Dion Smith (NZl) ONE Pro Cycling

British national champion Peter Kennaugh is back in action today for Team Sky in the Gran Piemonte road race in Italy.

Kennaugh is joined on Sky's squad for the UCI 1.HC-ranked race by new British Sky recruits Tao Geoghegan Hart and Alex Peters. The 20 and 21-year-olds joined Sky towards the end of the 2015 season as stagiaires, with Peters now signed up on a pro contract with the team for 2016.

Belarusian time trial world champion Vasil Kiryienka, Australian Richie Porte, American Ian Boswell, Czech rider Leopold König and Colombian Sebastián Henao complete Sky's eight-man roster.

>>> Peter Kennaugh beats Chris Boardman’s 22-year-old Isle of Man record

The start list (see below) predominantly features Italian riders, looking to make a good end-of-season show for the home crowds.

Michele Scarponi (Astana), Damiano Cunego (Nippo-Vini Fantini), Matteo Trentin (Etixx-QuickStep), Diego Ulissi (Lampre-Merida), Giovanni Visconti (Movistar), Davide Villella (Cannondale-Garmin), Daniele Bennati (Tinkoff-Saxo) and Fabio Felline (Trek Factory Racing) are among the Italians seeking to make their mark on the race.

The 185-kilometre route can be broadly chopped into two halves with different characters: the first half from the start in San Francesco al Campo is relatively flat, the ideal terrain for a breakaway to shape up; the second half is much more hilly with the two key climbs of Alice Superiore and Prascorsano before a finishing circuit to the line in Ciriè.

The race - formerly known as the Giro del Piemonte - returns to the calendar after a two-year absence. The last winner was Colombian Rigoberto Uran (riding for Sky) in 2012.

Gran Piemonte is the second of the three races included in the trittico di autunno, which also comprises yesterday's Milano-Torino, won by Diego Rosa (Astana), and Sunday’s Il Lombardia.

>>> Il Lombardia 2015 preview

Gran Piemonte 2015 start list

Ag2r-La Mondiale

1 BAKELANDTS Jan (BEL)

2 BERARD Julien (FRA)

3 BONNAFOND Guillaume (FRA)

4 DOMONT Axel (FRA)

5 CAMPISTROUS Romain (FRA)

Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec

11 CHICCHI Francesco (ITA)

12 BANDIERA Marco (ITA)

13 BENFATTO Marco (ITA)

14 ZILIOLI Gianfranco (ITA)

15 FRAPPORTI Marco (ITA)

16 GATTO Oscar (ITA)

17 DALL'ANTONIA Tiziano (ITA)

18 TVETCOV Serghei (ROU)

Astana

21 SCARPONI Michele (ITA)

22 AGNOLI Valerio (ITA)

23 CATALDO Dario (ITA)

24 GUARDINI Andrea (ITA)

25 LANDA MEANA Mikel (ESP)

26 LOPEZ MORENO Miguel Angel (COL)

27 ROSA Diego (ITA)

28 VANOTTI Alessandro (ITA)

Bardiani-CSF

31 COLBRELLI Sonny (ITA)

32 BARBIN Enrico (ITA)

33 BONGIORNO Francesco Manuel (ITA)

34 SIMION Paolo (ITA)

35 PIRAZZI Stefano (ITA)

36 STERBINI Simone (ITA)

37 RUFFONI Nicola (ITA)

38 ZARDINI Edoardo (ITA)

Bora-Argon 18

41 BENEDETTI Cesare (ITA)

42 BUCHMANN Emanuel (GER)

43 KONRAD Patrick (AUT)

44 POSTLBERGER Lukas (AUT)

45 NERZ Dominik (GER)

46 PIMENTA COSTA MENDES José J. (POR)

47 SALERNO Cristiano (ITA)

48 VOSS Paul (GER)

Colombia

51 RUBIANO CHAVEZ Miguel Angel (COL)

52 AVILA VANEGAS Edwin Alcibiad (COL)

53 CANO ARDILA Alex (COL)

54 DUQUE Leonardo Fabio (COL)

55 MOLANO Sebastian (COL)

56 RAMIREZ BOTERO Carlos Mario (COL)

57 QUINTERO Carlos Julian (COL)

58 VALENCIA Juan Pablo (COL)

Etixx-QuickStep

61 BOUET Maxime (FRA)

62 BRAMBILLA Gianluca (ITA)

64 GOLAS Michal (POL)

65 SABATINI Fabio (ITA)

66 TRENTIN Matteo (ITA)

67 VERONA QUINTANILLA Carlos (ESP)

68 WISNIOWSKI Lukasz (POL)

IAM Cycling

71 AREGGER Marcel (SUI)

72 CHEVRIER Clement (FRA)

73 DEGAND Thomas (BEL)

74 FUMEAUX Jonathan (SUI)

75 LANG Pirmin (SUI)

76 REICHENBACH Sébastien (SUI)

77 SCHELLING Patrick (SUI)

78 WARBASSE Lawrence (USA)

Lampre-Merida

81 ULISSI Diego (ITA)

82 CIMOLAI Davide (ITA)

83 DURASEK Kristijan (CRO)

84 FENG Chun Kai (TPE)

85 MODOLO Sacha (ITA)

86 MORI Manuele (ITA)

87 POLANC Jan (SLO)

88 XU Gang (CHN)

Movistar

91 VISCONTI Giovanni (ITA)

92 CAPECCHI Eros (ITA)

93 HERRADA LOPEZ José (ESP)

94 MORENO BAZAN Javier (ESP)

95 ROJAS GIL Jose Joaquin (ESP)

96 SOLER GIMENEZ Marc (ESP)

97 SÜTTERLIN Jasha (GER)

98 VENTOSO ALBERDI Francisco J. (ESP)

MTN-Qhubeka

101 TEKLEHAIMANOT Daniel (ERI)

102 BERHANE Natnael (ERI)

103 JANSE VAN RENSBURG Jacques (RSA)

104 JIM Songezo (RSA)

105 SBARAGLI Kristian (ITA)

106 MEINTJES Louis (RSA)

107 VAN ZYL Johann (RSA)

108 VENTER Jacobus (RSA)

Nippo-Vini Fantini

111 CUNEGO Damiano (ITA)

112 BERLATO Giacomo (ITA)

113 GROSU Eduard Michael (ROU)

114 DE NEGRI Pier Paolo (ITA)

115 CHAPARRO LOPEZ Didier Alonso (COL)

116 MALAGUTI Alessandro (ITA)

117 NIBALI Antonio (ITA)

118 YAMAMOTO Genki (JPN)

Southeast

121 BELLETTI Manuel (ITA)

122 BUSATO Matteo (ITA)

123 CONTI Samuele (ITA)

124 FEDI Andrea (ITA)

125 RODRIGUEZ MARTIN Cristian (ESP)

126 GAVAZZI Francesco (ITA)

127 PONZI Simone (ITA)

128 WACKERMANN Luca (ITA)

Cannondale-Garmin

131 VILLELLA Davide (ITA)

132 BETTIOL Alberto (ITA)

133 BOVENHUIS Jasper (NED)

134 DOMBROWSKI Joseph Lloyd (USA)

136 MARANGONI Alan (ITA)

137 MULLEN Ryan (IRL)

138 SLAGTER Tom Jelte (NED)

Katusha

141 GUARNIERI Jacopo (ITA)

142 LAGUTIN Sergey (RUS)

143 LOSADA ALGUACIL Alberto (ESP)

144 MACHADO Tiago (POR)

145 TROFIMOV Yury (RUS)

146 VICIOSO ARCOS Angel (ESP)

147 VORGANOV Eduard (RUS)

148 ZAKARIN Ilnur (RUS)

LottoNL-Jumbo

151 KELDERMAN Wilco (NED)

152 BENNETT George (NZL)

153 BOUWMAN Koen (NED)

154 KRUIJSWIJK Steven (NED)

155 LINDEMAN Bert Jan (NED)

156 ROOSEN Timo (NED)

157 TANKINK Bram (NED)

158 VAN WINDEN Dennis (NED)

Novo-Nordisk

161 CHERHAL Corentin (FRA)

163 HENTTALA Joonas (FIN)

164 LEFRANCOIS Nicolas (FRA)

165 LOZANO RIBA David (ESP)

166 MEGIAS LEAL Javier (ESP)

167 PERON Andrea (ITA)

168 PLANET Charles (FRA)

Team Sky

171 KIRYIENKA Vasil (BLR)

172 BOSWELL Ian (USA)

173 HART GEOGHEGAN Tao (GBR)

174 HENAO GOMEZ Sebastian (COL)

175 KENNAUGH Peter (GBR)

176 KONIG Leopold (CZE)

177 PETERS Alex (GBR)

178 PORTE Richie (AUS)

Tinkoff-Saxo

181 BENNATI Daniele (ITA)

182 GROSSCHARTNER Felix (AUT)

183 HANSEN Jesper (DEN)

184 HERNANDEZ BLAZQUEZ Jesus (ESP)

185 KISERLOVSKI Robert (CRO)

186 PIRES Bruno (POR)

187 POLJANSKI Pawel (POL)

188 SÖRENSEN Chris Anker (DEN)

Trek Factory Racing

191 FELLINE Fabio (ITA)

192 ALAFACI Eugenio (ITA)

193 COLEDAN Marco (ITA)

194 DIDIER Laurent (LUX)

195 MOLLEMA Bauke (NED)

196 NIZZOLO Giacomo (ITA)

197 POPOVYCH Yaroslav (UKR)

198 REKITA Szymon (POL)

The longest standing cycling record on the Isle of Man is no more, with Team Sky's Peter Kennaugh beating Chris Boardman's time on the Snaefell Mountain Course.

The Manxman, who won gold for Team GB in the team pursuit at the London 2012 Olympics, made his way round the TT course in 1hr 23m 48s to beat Boardman's time by just six seconds.

Former Tour de France yellow jersey wearer Boardman set the record way back in 1993, when Kennaugh was just four years old. The Sky rider got close to Boardman's time in 2012, taking the local record with a ride two-and-a-half minutes slower than the course record.

But Kennaugh returned this weekend to finally wrest the record from Boardman's grasp and pick up a £3,000 prize from local firm Shoprite, who have been offering an incentive for someone to break the record for the past few years.

Kennaugh, along with fellow British riders Luke Rowe and Ian Stannard, has renewed his contract with Team Sky for the 2016 season after a year which saw him win the British Championships and win a stage at the Criterium du Dauphiné.

Peter Kennaugh described today's British Road Race Championships, in which he beat 2013 winner Mark Cavendish after a two-man sprint on Lincoln's famed Michaelgate climb, as “one of the hardest races” of his career.

Kennaugh became only the fourth male rider – after Colin Lewis, John Tanner and Roger Hammond – to defend the title since the Championships were unified in 1959.

And with the racing beginning almost immediately from the gun, the Manxman admitted it was a tough day in the saddle.

“I think that's got to be one of the hardest races of my career,” he said. “From three kilometres in, when we split it in the crosswinds, it was on all day, you were constantly on the pedals without realising.

>>> Peter Kennaugh defends national title as he beats Mark Cavendish to line in Lincoln

“When you get onto this climb, doing two-minute full efforts every lap, it catches up with you. When I did the Lincoln GP in 2013, I had the same feeling on the last lap – your legs cramp and fill with lactic.

“Michaelgate is actually quite stressful. The fans are great, their enthusiasm is amazing, but when you're hitting them each lap, it would be nice if they gave you bit more room.”

Team Sky deserve credit for allowing their riders to race against each other – particularly when Kennaugh found himself in a leading group in the final laps of a 13-kilometre circuit around the historic city alongside team-mates Ian Stannard and Luke Rowe, in addition to Cavendish.

“We get asked the same questions every year: we don't work for each other, and we don't work against each other,” added Kennaugh.

Peter Kennaugh (Team Sky) successfully defended his British national road title in Lincoln on Sunday, racing ahead of Mark Cavendish (Etixx - Quick-Step) on the final climb of Michaelgate to the finish line.

The 26-year-old is only the third man in history to take back-to-back British national road race titles, with Roger Hammond last completing the feat in 2003/04.

Kennaugh and his Sky teammates had dominated proceedings for almost the entire day, driving on the front early in the race to significantly reduce the numbers, before increasing the pace again when the race hit the 12.8km Lincoln Grand Prix town circuit.

Stannard and Kennaugh then attacked with well over 80km to go in the 197.6km race, and quickly drew out a lead of over 30 seconds over chasers Cavendish, Adam Blythe (Orica-GreenEdge) and Scott Thwaites (Bora-Argon18).

>>> Unstoppable Armitstead powers to national road race victory in Lincoln

Rowe did nothing to help the three other members of his group to chase down his teammates, and as Blythe and Thwaites began to tire, 2013 champion Cavendish broke away and started to break the Sky pair's lead down with Rowe on his wheel.

The Welshman then began to work to get back to Kennaugh and Stannard on the seventh of nine ascents of the cobbled Michaelgate climb and with one-and-a-half laps to go, the four were back together.

2012 champion Stannard was the first to try to get away on a flat, straight part of the lap, but was quickly chased down by Rowe and Kennaugh with Cavendish following on.

The Etixx man then made is move shortly after, creating enough of a gap that only Kennaugh could stick with him and it quickly became obvious it would be a race between the two as Rowe and Stannard were distanced.

It was head-to-head between the two Manxmen up Michaelgate, but sprinter Cavendish was unable to stick with Kennaugh on the final part of the sharp climb, with last year's winner rounding the final bend to cross the line with his hands in the air.

Rowe and Stannard then battled it out shortly after for the bronze medal, with a tight squeeze on the final corner narrowly seeing Stannard cross the line ahead of a clearly frustrated Rowe.

One of the pre-race favourites Simon Yates (Orica-GreenEdge) had missed the split between groups as Sky ramped things up early in the day, and quickly found himself out of the race as he attempted to chase on with Owain Doull (Team Wiggins). Both were in contention for the U23 title, but Doull got the better of Yates and rode in solo to take the U23 title.

Results

British National Road Championships - Elite men's road race

1. Peter Kennaugh (Team Sky), in 4-27-33

2. Mark Cavendish (Etixx - Quick-Step), at 5 seconds

3. Ian Stannard (Team Sky), at 39 seconds

4. Luke Rowe (Team Sky), same time

5. Scott Thwaites (Bora-Argon18), at 3 minutes

6. Adam Blythe (Orica-GreenEdge) at 3-30

7. Owain Doull (Team Wiggins), at 6-29

8. Yanto Barker (One Pro Cycling), at 8-04

9. Steven Lampier (Raleigh GAC), at 8-05

10. John Mould (One Pro Cycling), at 8-07

Mark Cavendish on the 2015 Tour de France

As Team Sky enjoys its best Classics season yet, with Ian Stannard winning Het Nieuwsblad and Geraint Thomas taking E3 Harelbeke, one of their team-mates has been forced to miss out on the action due to injury: Peter Kennaugh.

The British road race champion's name has appeared on several provisional start lists, including Strade Bianche and Milan-San Remo, only for Sky to miss him out of its final selection.

The usually media-savvy Sky along with Kennaugh himself have been quiet on the reasons behind his lay-off from racing, despite being contacted by Cycling Weekly, but now the reason has been revealed in his Jupiter London Nocturne column for the  Daily Telegraph: he has suffered a recurrence of the sacroiliac joint injury that he first suffered prior to the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Since supporting Chris Froome to victory in the Ruta Del Sol in Spain at the end of February, where Kennaugh also rode strongly to place sixth overall, the 25 year old has not raced on the road due to the niggling injury.

After the enforced rest, Kennaugh is hoping to return to competition in the Ardennes Classics, comprising the Amstel Gold Race (April 19), La Fleche Wallonne (April 22) and Liege-Bastogne-Liege (April 26).

"I started riding again last week and plan to have a couple more weeks building the fitness back up," Kennaugh wrote in his Telegraph column. "Hopefully I’ll do the Ardennes Classics in mid-April – which were a big target of mine at the start of the year, although realistically it will be beyond my power to get a result there now."

After the Ardennes Classics, Kennaugh hopes to make it to Sky's altitude training camp on Tenerife in June, which he says is "a key staging post ahead of this summer’s Tour de France".

Last year, Kennaugh was disappointed not to have been selected to ride when the Tour de France started in Yorkshire, and instead went on to win the Tour of Austria overall as his team-mates suffered a torrid time in France, with leader Froome crashing out.

Kennaugh admitted that he's been a poor spectator over the past few weeks, but he has enjoyed the success of his team-mates and friends, several of whom have followed the same path as Kennaugh through the British Cycling system on the track and road since being a junior.

"Watching Geraint Thomas, Ben Swift and Luke Rowe lead the field at Milan-San Remo... was a massive boost. These are guys I have come through the ranks with. I’ve said it before but it really feels as if we have arrived as a group now."

Kennaugh also received another boost earlier this week, when he was named Isle of Man Sportsman of the Year for the second time in three years.

Luke Rowe dedicates the majority of his time supporting Sky team-mates but got the rare chance to vie for his own victory working with Peter Kennaugh at the end of the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race yesterday.

The 24-year-old finished the inaugural one-day event fourth behind Gianni Meersman (Ettix-QuickStep), Simon Clarke (Orica-GreenEdge) and Nathan Haas (Cannondale-Garmin) in what was a good learning curve for he and British national road champion Kennaugh especially.

Sky riders were given a free role in the punchy 174km circuit race in and around Geelong, Victoria as opposed to supporting one contender as had been the case at the preceding Tour Down Under where almost the same team worked for runner-up Richie Porte.

Kennaugh committed to supporting Rowe in the small group sprint finish after his own notable attempts to force multiple moves throughout didn’t stick.

“It was just an open race to do what we wanted so whenever I can do what I want, instead of working for the team, I always like to get my head out there and get involved,” the Manxman said.

Rowe bridged across to the lead group, which included Kennaugh, within the final 10km of the race and was in the mix along the home straight, however, sprinted too early in a headwind finish and faded in the last 100m.

“We work for the other guys so much you forget how to do those kind of race situations, when you’re not in that position very often these days,” Kennaugh said. “It’s good to do and get experience for the future.”

It’s a sentiment that Rowe, whose last victory was the opening stage of the 2012 Tour of Britain, agreed with.

“It’s a good point,” he said. “I’ve been a pro three years now and 99 per cent of the races I just commit to other guys. Here we all had our own role, it was a free race, and you do have to get used to how to win again. As an amateur you do it week in and week out but, here, it’s something I haven’t done for a while, sprinted for the win.

“The difference is when you’re working for other guys, your finish line is one kilometre to go, two kilometres to go, the bottom of a climb,” Rowe continued. “Racing for yourself you have to start predicting when to kick and doing those little things that make the difference between winning and losing.”

Sky embarked on a staff restructure prior to the new WorldTour season and is set to have an increased presence at smaller races throughout the year with rider development outside of its established Grand Tour winning hierarchy in mind.

Kennaugh will work closely with esteemed coach Rod Ellingworth now as he looks to make more of a mark on the road after a 2014 campaign in which title honours at the British national road championship, Coppi e Bartali and the Tour of Austria reminded the 2012 London Olympic team pursuit gold medallist of how to race as a winner.

“After last year with a few results and stuff you get it back quickly, but when you spend four years doing a domestique role, or getting bottles, keeping the guys out the wind and in position for the climbs, when it comes in to sprint finishes like that [in Geelong], or the thick end of a bike race where it’s all going off, you can see the guys who have experience racing in that position,” he said. “They’re so much wiser and use their efforts so much smarter. I think it’s something I’ve got to work on, just holding back a bit and being more clever with efforts.

“It’s taken me a few years to get that consistency on the road and that strength where I can come to races and race, rather than take half a season to get going, or being in the back group and then finding form later in the year,” he continued. "It’s good for my confidence to come here and race against some of the top riders in the world, and not just be hanging on and trying to stay in there.”

Twitter: @SophieSmith86

Marcel Kittel celebrated a convincing victory at the People’s Choice Classic criterium in Adelaide, Australia today defending his title on the back of a commanding showing from his Giant-Alpecin team.

The 26-year-old best Juan Jose Lobato (Movistar) and Wouter Wippert (Drapac) at the end of the fast-paced 51km race that acts as a prelude to the Tour Down Under beginning Tuesday.

“I’m always nervous before the first race,” Kittel said. “I want to have that first win immediately with the team, if it’s possible, and I’m super happy it worked out today.”

British national road champion Peter Kennaugh was part of a four-man break including Mathew Hayman (Orica-GreenEdge), Calvin Watson (Trek) and Dario Cataldo (Astana) that eventually went clear on the 1.7km circuit. The quartet held a maximum advantage of about 31 seconds, with Giant-Alpecin assembled in single file and ever vigilant at the front of the peloton, before rejoining the main group inside the last 14km.

Kittel lost two team-mates in Lawson Craddock and Simon Geschke, who went out the back with some two laps remaining having done their bit.

>>> Gallery: best photos from the People's Classic 2015

"That’s an indication how hard it was," said Giant-Alpecin sports director Addy Engels. "They worked really hard and the speed was simply too high to stay in the bunch in the final. I didn’t have the feeling it was an easy victory but best way to start, of course."

The German fast-man Kittel however still had Koen de Kort in the finale, launching his sprint off the Dutchman’s wheel inside the last 200m.

Kennaugh was happy with his showing ahead of the Tour Down Under, which the 25-year-old is competing at for the first time.

“I wasn’t really looking forward to this crit that much to be honest, after seeing it the last couple of years, all these crashes and stuff, but today it was good,” Kennaugh said. “It’s nice to get out there and show the jersey. It beats just sitting at the back or something like that.”

Kittel will have another opportunity to add to his 2015 victory count when the Tour Down Under begins with a flat stage on Tuesday. Kennaugh is set to ride in support of Sky team-mate Richie Porte, who has title aspirations.

Twitter: @SophieSmith86

Results
People's Choice Classic, East End, Adelaide, 51km
1. Marcel Kittel (Ger) Giant-Alpecin 1-02-41

2. Juan Jose Lobato (Spa) Movistar

3. Wouter Wippert (Ned) Drapac

4. Chris Sutton (Aus) Sky

5. Heinrich Haussler (Aus) IAM

6. Gianni Meersman (Bel) Etixx-Quick-Step

7. Rudiger Selig (Ger) Katusha

8. Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale

9. Mark Renshaw (Aus) Etixx-Quick-Step

10. Greg Henderson (NZl) Lotto-Soudal

The event, which will see champions crowned in the road and time trial disciplines, is due to take place from Thursday 25 to Sunday 28 June 2015, beginning with the time trial at Cadwell Park Motor Racing Circuit.

The remainder of the time trial route will be held on fully closed roads - running along the top of the Lincolnshire Wolds as well as taking in the villages of Ruckland, Oslears Lane and Bluestone Heath Road.

The road race, which takes place on the Sunday, will officially start at The Yarnborough Leisure Centre. This will also serve as the race headquarters and team village. The finish line for the event will be in Lincoln’s Castle Square.

Taking in the villages of Stow, Willingham by Stow, Kexby, and Corringham, plus many more, the 28-mile loop is a variation of the route used for the 2014 Lincoln Grand Prix.

British Cycling’s cycle sport and membership director, Jonny Clay, said: "The prestigious Lincoln Grand Prix has been an integral feature of the British Cycling elite road racing calendar for decades so it is fitting that in its 60th year, the city will host the biggest single day bike race on the calendar.

"The routes for the 2015 championships will present riders with challenging courses which will see the first uphill finish at the road race championships for a number of years. With the famous cobbled climb of Michaelgate featuring heavily in the road race courses we can expect to see enthralling battles which will produce worthy champions."

Peter Kennaugh, Laura Trott, Sir Bradley Wiggins and Emma Pooley were crowned elite champions in the event last year.

Bradley Wiggins's classic bike collection

Peter Kennaugh's white Pinarello F8

Lizzie Armitstead calls for minimum wage for female cyclists

National road champion Peter Kennaugh still cannot justify Team Sky’s decision to leave him out of its Tour de France squad but is nevertheless ready to support Chris Froome at the Vuelta a Espana starting Saturday.

The Vuelta promises a thrilling general classification battle and has attracted equal billing to that of the Giro d’Italia and Tour this year with a start-list that includes Froome, Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo), Nairo Quintana (Movistar) and Rigoberto Uran (Omega Pharma-Quick Step).

Kennaugh at the beginning of the year identified the Ardennes Classics and again supporting Froome at the Tour, not the Vuelta, as major goals of the season. However, neither went to plan.

“I don’t really know what happened around the Ardennes time. I was just tired and struggling for form even though I won that Coppi e Bartali race not long before,” the Manxman said.

“I had 10 days off and went back to the Isle of Man for a bit to chill out. I didn’t think a lot about cycling for a couple of weeks. I started to train again leading into Bayern Rundfahrt and since then it’s been pretty good really.”

The 25-year-old has been on an upward trajectory since June finishing 10th at Bayern-Rundfahrt, winning gold at the national titles and taking overall at the week-long Tour of Austria in which he never relinquished the leader’s jersey after winning the opening stage.

“I kind of knew I could go there and get some results for myself but I didn’t expect to win the overall,” Kennaugh said of Austria. “On the first day the meeting was really brief and it was almost like everyone had an opportunity. I remember Josh Edmondson on the bus saying, ‘if there is ever a course suited to you then this is it.' I was a bit miffed that no one had actually said, ‘this would be a good one to work for Pete for.'

“Once we got on the road I sort of said I felt really good and I did. It was the first time I wore the national jersey as well so I think I had loads of morale from that and got the guys to commit towards me.”

Kennaugh said Sky informed him that he hadn't been consistent enough to warrant Tour de France selection and so the Vuelta, which he last started as a neo-professional in 2010, will mark his first Grand Tour of the season.

The team is determined to salvage its Grand Tour campaign after failing to convert an opportunistic approach at the Giro and losing Froome to crash-related injuries during the first week of the Tour.

Kennaugh has undergone a two-week training block at altitude, which Mark Christian (Raleigh) joined for 10-days, in the lead-up to the Vuelta. He is hopeful of good form after that and solid performances in his last two road races being the Commonwealth Games, in which he finished eighth after an especially long solo escape, and Austria.

“It’s been really enjoyable getting the results on the bike. I’ve been really laid back and having a lot of fun with it, not putting too much pressure on myself, which I think is maybe where I went a bit wrong early season,” he said.

“Everyone on the team knows what Froomey can do and is capable of. We’ve got that at the back of our minds. You know it’s not going to be a case of riding around the back and going for the odd stage or whatever. We are going to have to have a good plan going into each day to protect him as much as possible for the GC.”

Twitterː @SophieSmith86

Put more faith in your riders, Peter Kennaugh urges Team Sky

Manxman says wins at the Tour of Austria and National Road Championships "did not prove a point".

Peter Kennaugh wins Tour of Austria

Peter Kennaugh successfully defends lead in Tour of Austria throughout week to take overall win

Weeks after he was left out of their Tour de France line-up, Peter Kennaugh has called on Team Sky management to show greater support for their riders.

The 25-year-old, who yesterday took silver in the points race at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, missed out on selection for this year's Tour despite impressing in the 2013 edition.

Kennaugh won the National Road Race Championships in June and then the Tour of Austria at the start of July, although he believes he did not have a point to prove with those performances.

“It's been a really good past couple of months,” he said. “I've been really relaxed with it all, I've been enjoying it along the way, I haven't been stressing about anything.

“I feel like I've already proved what I can do, I don't feel like I need to prove myself anymore. It's starting to get frustrating when the team says things like 'you need to go and prove yourself'.

“I know what I can do, they know what I can do, put some faith in your riders.”

However Kennaugh, who has one year left on his Sky contract, does not plan on returning to the track full-time as he did with the team pursuit in 2012.

“I love the road. The track is a bit too structural, it's a bit too time specific, going round in circles,” he added.

“I just love the style of walking out your front door in sunshine, stopping during a ride at a cafe. There's no sun in here, it's depressing. Every time I ride out the velodrome I go 'how nice is that?'.”

Kennaugh's comments come just days after Bradley Wiggins said he planned to scale back his road riding.

“I’ve kind of done the road now. I’ve bled it dry,” said Wiggins on Thursday. “The road is quite cut-throat. The track feels more like a family and a closer-knit group of people.

“That will probably be it for the Grand Tours. I can’t imagine doing that now.”