Creating a balanced squad of riders is among the most demanding challenges a team manager will face, but Pridham has selected a complementary mix of experience and raw talent.

In the rangy form of Adam Kenway, the 2016 British hill climb champion, and in Josh Hunt, who has ridden for most of the top domestic teams, she has a valuable presence on the road. Teenagers like Tim Torrie and Joe Reilly, by contrast, are at the very start of their careers.

“Race programme is crucial. We need to get back into Europe gradually, but we can’t just throw these young guys into UCI races. They must learn to win bike races in the UK first.”

Pridham is realistic about the cards she has to play, but confident that she can coax the best from such a youthful squad. Vitus Pro Cycling Team is a three-year project, and she hopes that year one will leave her with a core group of riders, which she can strengthen and build upon.

“The results will come,” she says. “With the group that we’ve got, I’m not really worried. I think that we will win races. It’s going to take us a couple of races to settle down, but I think that there are going to be one or two surprises in the group.”

Harrison Jones’ development will intrigue many outside of the team. As a rider once recruited by Alberto Contador for his Polartec development squad, there can be little doubting Jones’ ability. Pridham will follow Contador, arguably the best Grand Tour rider of his generation, in attempting to realise the 21-year-old’s full potential.

Liam Davies and Grant Martin are young riders in various stages of development. Davies, spotted in the Derby track league, has everything to prove. Martin returns for a second year under Pridham’s direction, after riding for her last season in the final year of Team Raleigh.

Leon Gledhill’s career has already taken interesting turns, with spells as a Team GB track sprinter and road racing in the USA already on his palmares. Andy Shackel faces a challenging year, in which he will attempt to balance the responsibilities of a full-time job with Wiggle with the demands of riding as a professional cyclist.

Julio Amores and Deins Kanepejs add an international flavour to the team. Amores, a member of the Spanish track squad, continues a recent trend among Pridham’s recruitment, while Kanepejs, a Latvian sprinter (and perhaps also a lead-out man), is a late signing, who will give her a powerful card to play in bunch finishes.

Finally, there is 18-year-old Ben Walsh, who last year represented Ireland in the junior category in the road race and time-trial at both the European and World Championships. He has already gained valuable experience in Nations Cup and UCI races.

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