"Joe has proven he’s still in good shape” - Joseph Blackmore gets benefit of Chris Froome's wisdom as Israel - Premier Tech head to Guangxi

Chris Froome has pretty much been there and done it all over his career in the peloton. As the 39-year-old, seven-time Grand Tour winner nears his career end though, Froome has taken on more of a mentor's role at Israel - Premier Tech, using his vast experience to help the likes of Derek Gee and Matthew Riccitello. At the upcoming Tour of Guangxi, Froome gets to ride alongside the next generation of British GC talent.

Joseph Blackmore starred earlier this year at the Tour de l'Avenir, securing the Maillot Jaune and already has Tour de Taiwan and Tour du Rwanda overall victories on his palmares. As such, Israel - Premier Tech head to the Tour of Guangxi fully supportive of Blackmore's latest general classification quest in China.

“We’ve got two goals: to get a win with the sprinters – we have Ethan Vernon and Riley Sheehan here, and both are really motivated – and to look towards the GC with Joe,” says Sports Director Sep Vanmarcke to Israel - Premier Tech's official website. “It’s the end of the season so it’s hard to say what the level of everybody else here will be. But Joe has proven over the last few weeks that he’s still in good shape.”

”The racing here is different," continues the former Omloop Het Nieuwsblad winner turned sports director. "It’s more like at the UAE Tour, where the roads are three or four lanes wide and positioning for corners most of the time isn’t a major problem.”

“I’m really motivated,” sprint star Ethan Vernon adds. ”I’ve been training really hard for this with the aim of ending the season well. The shape has been getting better and better every week since the Olympics and I’ve been feeling really good on the bike. I’m excited to see how I get on. I think we have four and potentially five sprints, so there are a lot of opportunities here. Hopefully I can end the year as I started it at the Tour des Alpes Maritimes – with a win!”