Tom Pidcock hasn't held back on what he thinks of the potential of his Ineos Grenadiers Spring Classics team-mates as he looks towards making his debut for the team in just a few day's time.
Pidcock, 21, said his new team's performances in the Classics have not reflected the quality of riders they have, as he looks to not just make up the numbers in the WorldTour during his neo-pro year.
>>> Five things to look out for at the Tour des Alpes-Maritimes et du Var 2021
In an interview with The Telegraph, Pidcock said: "A lot of the new riders' styles are quite aggressive and real racers, so I think there's a good group.
"I mean there's still the Grand Tour riders in the team, but there's a good group of racers as well. With me and Ethan [Hayter] at Ineos, there's a good few guys that can race.
"I think the Classics team at Ineos needs... there could be more success with the riders that Ineos have. Yeah, that's what I'm gonna say."
Looking back at the 11 years that Ineos Grenadiers, once Team Sky, have ridden, the Classics wins have undoubtedly been thin on the ground in contrast to their stage racing success, especially when considering the amount of talent they have had in the team.
The British squad have taken a few notable wins: Milan-San Remo, Strade Bianche, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and Omloop Het Nieuwsblad being just four examples with Michał Kwiatkowski being the most successful Ineos Classics rider. British success has been mostly focused around Geraint Thomas and the now-retired Ian Stannard.
Pidcock is down to ride the Classics, making his first appearance at the 'opening weekend' with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad as his first hit out on the cobbles before racing through the cobbled and Ardennes Classics.
First though he'll make his race debut at the Tour des Alpes-Maritimes et du Var alongside Thomas and Tao Geoghegan Hart, where he will look to put in a good performance after a strong cyclocross season where he battled against Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) and Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma).
Big things are expected of the Yorkshireman and his potential of winning some of the WorldTour's biggest races - he even has his eyes on winning in his neo-pro season.
"I'm excited about it, it's been a long time coming," he said. "I've been kept back in the under-23s with an eye on the long game, but I'm happy now I'm finally stepping up. I think I'm capable of properly racing. So I think that yes I can hopefully win a race or two this year."
Pidcock isn't the only new Ineos Grenadiers rider making his debut this weekend, Adam Yates and Daniel Martínez are both appearing in the team's colours for the first time at the UAE Tour as Yates looks to defend his title there.
Laurens De Plus has already made his debut for the British super-team as he supported Egan Bernal and eventual overall winner, Iván Sosa, at the Tour de la Provence.
The last rider who will be making his first appearance for the team since leaving at the end of 2015 will be veteran Australian, Richie Porte, who is set to make his return to the team at Paris-Nice.
