Watch: Ian Stannard stars in Team Sky’s 2017 Christmas video
As a cycling equivalent of the John Lewis advert, Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without Sky's annual festive video
Team Sky‘s annual Christmas video has become established as a festive fixture over the past few years.
We’ve previously had Geraint Thomas playing jingle bells on a bicycle bell, and riders powering up Christmas lights with pedal power.
This year, British Classics specialist and super-domestique Ian Stannard takes a grim-looking wintry ride around the roads and lanes to map out something special in a video titled ‘Riding Home for Christmas’… though it would be a bit mean to reveal exactly what if you haven’t seen the video yet.
By his own high standards, Stannard has had a relatively quiet season during 2017 after starting well with a stage victory in the Herald Sun Tour in Australia in February.
>>> Team Sky riders let their hair down with incredible costumes at team Christmas party
Luck didn’t go his way during the spring classics, and he was not selected for the 2017 Tour de France in July due to fatigue, having helped Chris Froome in his previous three wins.
However, Stannard was back in action supporting Froome to win the Vuelta a España in September.
Stannard has inked a new three-year deal with Team Sky this year, which will see him ride with the British WorldTour outfit until the end of 2020.
He has said that he is aiming for Paris-Roubaix in 2018.