If Paul Revere were alive today, he would no doubt be on his horse haring through America as we speak to deliver fateful news to those in California.

“The British are coming!”

Or perhaps it would be more fitting if the modern incarnations of Revere and his midnight messengers did so by bike instead, because it is aboard two-wheeled stallions that Britain’s best will be looking to make their mark across the pond.

Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) and Sir Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) will be leading the charge of their respective teams when the ninth edition of the Amgen Tour of California rolls out on May 11.

It comes at a critical time for the sport in America, its growth inhibited by the damage inflicted by repeated doping scandals – Tyler Hamilton, Floyd Landis, Levi Leipheimer, Lance Armstrong et al – with USADA most recently announcing the ban of former US Postal Service Team director Johann Bruyneel.

Perhaps Cavendish and Wiggins, Britain’s two most famous riders, are exactly the sort to help restore faith in the sport in one of the world’s largest countries. Outspoken defenders of clean racing and hugely popular riders, both represent a far cry from the scandals and mistrust prevalent across the pond

But perhaps Britain’s two most famous riders are exactly the sort to help restore faith in the sport in one of the world’s largest countries. Outspoken defenders of clean racing, and, most importantly, hugely popular riders, both represent a far cry from the scandals and mistrust prevalent across the pond.

BMC Racing’s young duo, Taylor Phinney, winner of the Dubai Tour, and defending Tour of California champion Tejay van Garderen are two of a new breeed for Americans to look up to.

Armstrong was, of course, a hero – but his fall from grace and the subsequent stripping of his seven Tour de France titles has left a gaping void.

That Landis, too, had his 2006 Tour de France win wiped from his record while Leipheimer – the first American to reach the Vuelta a Espana podium – and Hamilton, the first of his countrymen to win Liege-Bastogne-Liege, are both also tarnished by scandal leaves a sorry state of affairs for American fans.

More positive signs – the presence of Phinney, Van Garderen, and Andrew Talansky among them – are enough to suggest the sport can recover, however, and this has to be good news for those hoping to tap into the American market.

So how will the ‘British invasion’ succeed? Read on.