Englishman Scott Thwaites was in great form at the Commonwealth Games, putting his Tour de France omission behind him by riding to the bronze medal in a brutal race in Glasgow.

Though the Surrey hills are unlikely to provide quite as dramatic a race, his endurance and climbing ability were proved in the race, and he will be among the riders to look out for if a break succeeds.

If not, Team NetApp-Endura also boast rising Irish sprint star Sam Bennett in their ranks who could feature at the sharp end while there are a host of other British riders to look out for.

The return of Ian Stannard to Team Sky’s ranks is a welcome one, while Ben Swift is in line to race too having finished in the top ten last year.