Just back from a training camp with his new team, Wout Poels prepares himself for another excursion with Team Sky.

The training camp is special because from the weekend he will be at altitude near Johannesburg with 2013 Tour de France winner Chris Froome. On February 17, he will start his season at the Tour of Oman.

It is partly an experiment because Poels has never done altitude training before. "It is a matter of waiting and seeing how my body reacts to it," Poels told De Telegraaf. "I look forward to staying with  Froome and a soigneur for two weeks. During the training camp in Mallorca (which finished last Saturday, ed.) I had a short chance to talk to him. My first impression is that he is very relaxed and open. But now I will get to know him a lot better.”

Poels has no idea whether the trip to South Africa is also an indication of the Tour plans at Sky. "That race is still so far away. I need to perform in other races. There are plenty of riders in contention for the Tour, so it is a serious fight. But of course I would like to be in Utrecht in July. In my first conversation with manager David Brailsford, I indicated that desire.”