Sky boys aim to prove a point in Stage 1 of the Tour of Britain

Under an ominous  cloud of rain that hung over Rochdale 166 riders gathered at the start of this years TOB.

Smarting from a lack of sucess at this years TDF, team sky were under a lot of pressure to start delivering. Their fresh kit now showing off their sponsors commitment to protecting the global treasure that is the rainforests, it must have felt like a fresh start for a home tour. 

While Bradley Wiggins is sure to want to prove his worth on his home soil, team mate Russ Downing is a favourite for a Tour win. However with current British champion Geraint Thomas having a fantastic season so far, sky are keeping quiet about who they intend to back as their man to bring home the glory.

Earlier in the year Richie Porte became a household name with three days in the Maglia Rosa of the Giro d'Italia. The young Saxo bank rider is a quite possibility to throw a spanner in the Sky teams glory-hunt. Grabbing points in the King of the Mountains competition Porte cemented his place as a rider to watch at this years tour.

Working hard at the front of the peloton the Sky team controlled the pace as Porte and his companions in the breakaway made their presence known.  Turning the screw at the head of the group the sky team controlled the tempo, trimming the advantage back with every measured turn if the peddle as they headed towards the third and final climb on the route into Blackpool. 

With HTC Columbia doing what they do best dominating the roll into the last km, it was sure to be a tense finish as Greiple strove to bring yet more glory for the well known sprint team. But with sky mixing up the action with Henderson and Thomas it seemed to be a free for all grab for sprint glory. 

Greiple lived up to his world class sprinting calebre taking the win as the sprinters hustled for the line.

Today the race heads into Stoke on Trent as the race picks up the pace for stage two.