At the end of the season, 11 Sky riders will be out of contract and this gives team principal David Brailsford a chance to rebuild the roster and rethink the strategy. Working hard to build the strongest possible team, the Brit will stay in Britain instead of heading to the Track World Championships in Cali.

Team Sky have been dominating the stage racing scene for the last two years but team principal David Brailsford is not resting on his laurels. In fact, he is so busy making sure that the team stay on top of the hierarchy that he has decided to stay in Britain instead of following the British team at this week's Track World Championships in Cali.

The reason for his decision is the fact that 11 of the current Sky riders will be out of contract at the end of the season. While it both presents a challenge to keep the nucleus of an already successful roster together, it also offers an opportunity to rethink the strategy and reinforce the team.

Recently, Brailsford was at the Tour of Oman where he had the chance to discuss the situation with Chris Froome, with the team captain likely to have his say on the composition of the future roster.

"We've got eleven guys out of contract this year and we're constantly trying to build and improve the team," Brailsford explained to Cyclingnews. "There's a period when you look at riders. We've got some great riders we want to re-contract and so keep the nucleus of the team together. But there are also opportunities to see if you can bring someone else in.

"As you'd expect, other teams are stepping up and so you can't stand still. No one team dominates forever and it's the same case in cycling. I think we're pushed to stay on top of our game because everyone else is working hard on their game too."

While Shy have dominated the stage racing scene, they have had a harder time in the classics, with wins in the opening Belgian weekend being their best one-day performances. However, any new signings will not be all about strengthening the classics roster.

"I think it's across the board," he said. As we saw in Oman, it was super competitive even early in the season. If you want to keep winning stage races, you've got to step it up."

When Team Sky were launched, the aim was to have a British Tour winner within 5 years. That target was reached way ahead of schedule and Brailsford promises that the team will keep its British feel.

It is, however, first and foremost about ability.

"I think you've got to look at ability first," he said. "That's what matters and you go from there. That's how I've always worked and it's the rule we'll use again for the future of Team Sky." 

With Team Sky taking more of his time, Brailsford has recently played with the idea of stepping down from his role at British Cycling or give away a bit more responsibility.