So at last we've got some names in the book for Team Sky:
- Geraint Thomas
- Pete Kennaugh
- Steve Cummings
- Rusell Downing
- Ian Stannard
- Chris Froome
Clever PR to start by naming the British core of the team thus establishing the team identity in the mind of the public. Apparently there'll be a couple more names this week and the rest will come out over the next few months.
For those of you given to conspiracy, here's the pictorial equivalent of leaving an arsonist alone with a box of matches and four litres of unleaded.
Remember: "Careless talk costs lives" as the poster said. And yes, that does look a lot like Ben Swift of Katusha and Jonathan Bellis of Saxo Bank who just happened to be passing when they were filming.
Hang on, there's still another 19 riders to be named. so naming six today still means that the process is the equivalent of a 10,000 piece puzzle: slow but ultimately rewarding.
I can punt on about a dozen of them maybe, with the implication from Bob Stapleton being that five of them will be coming from those leaving Columbia-HTC.
As for the rest, I haven't even had the time or energy to speculate properly. Actually if you want proper speculation you have to follow Bradley Wiggins on twitter.
If speculation isn't your thing then please feel free to read my latest piece for the BBC Sport website: Team Sky names the Brit pack in which I look at the prospects for the riders they've announced.
