Hugh Carthy (Cannondale-Drapac)

Preston-born Hugh Carthy steps up to UCI WorldTour level for the first time in 2017, having joined Cannondale-Drapac from Caja Rural.

Former Rapha-Condor rider Carthy, 22, made his Grand Tour debut at last year’s Vuelta a Espana and the Preston-born climber will be keen to further a burgeoning career which last year saw him crowned best young rider at the Volta a Catalunya and win the Vuelta Asturias.

Carthy’s rise to the top has been unconventional compared to some of the other British riders stepping up to the WorldTour in 2017, in that he did not come through the British Cycling academy, instead forging his own path.

And his new team, which boasts an array of exciting young riders, including Joe Dombrowski and Davide Formolo, are excited to see what he’s really made of.

Directeur sportif Charly Wegelius told RCUK last year: “We know any support we can give him will have a benefit. He’s a tough nut and that’s one of the most important qualities.”

Steve Cummings (Dimension Data)

Another Brit to have enjoyed a resurgence in form since joining ‘Africa’s Team’, Steve Cummings has taken full advantage of the freedom riding for Dimension Data has offered.

Set for his third year with the team since leaving BMC Racing, the veteran former Team Sky man goes into 2017 as defending Tour of Britain champion.

The 35-year-old Birkenhead-born ace also won stages at Tirenno-Adriatico, the Tour of the Basque Country, Criterium du Dauphine and, most notably, the Tour de France, escaping with gusto to claim a solo victory on stage seven.

Cumming’s penchant for attacking has been rewarded at Dimension Data, where he has had the freedom to do exactly that, with half of his 14 professional victories coming in the last two seasons.

Scott Thwaites (Dimension Data)

Dimension Data start the season with three Brits on board, with Cavendish and Cummings joined by former Bora-Argon 18 rider Scott Thwaites.

The Yorkshireman, 26, steps up to WorldTour level for the first time after four years in the second tier with Bora-Argon 18 and its NetApp-Endura precursor.

Opportunities have been limited with the German team for Thwaites, but a runners-up spot at Le Samyn and a Grand Tour debut at last year’s Vuelta a Espana showed enough to convince Dimension Data he was ready for cycling’s top tier.

Though yet to claim a pro victory, Thwaites has impressed in the Classics, while his bronze medal at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games proof of his aptitude in tough conditions.

Alex Dowsett (Movistar)

British time trial champion Alex Dowsett goes into his fifth year with the Spanish Movistar team with a point to prove.

 – Interview: Alex Dowsett dispels hour record talk and reiterates focus on Giro d’Italia –

Injury cost the Essex-born 28-year-old a place at the Giro d’Italia last season at a time when, he says, he was in the form of his life and much-fancied to add to his 2013 stage win at the Corsa Rosa.

That he has only ridden two Grand Tours – that 2013 race, and the 2015 Tour de France – is an anomaly that points more to misfortune with illness and injury, rather than a lack of ability.

Alongside his fifth national title against the clock, Dowsett also won the final stage of the Tour of Poland in 2016 – his 13^th professional victory.

But it’s the Giro d’Italia that sits top of his priority list in 2017, where he hopes to bid for a second Grand Tour stage win of his career before supporting team leader Nairo Quintana’s attack on the pink jersey.

Adam Yates (Orica-Scott)

While Adam Yates and his Australian team had done a good job of dampening expectations before 2016, last season saw the Bury-born 24-year-old’s stock rise massively.

Since turning pro with Orica-GreenEDGE (now Orica-Scott) in 2014, Yates has already been marked as a star for the future thanks to victory at the 2014 Tour of Turkey, before winning the Clasica San Sebastian the following year.

He was unable to defend his title in Spain last season, but then few will blame him – he had just a week earlier finished a career-high fourth at the Tour de France and bagged the white jersey of best young rider.

Of the British riders, only Sir Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome have finished higher than fourth at the Tour – and both of those ascended to the top step of the podium. Big things are now expected of Adam Yates.

Simon Yates (Orica-Scott)

While twin brother Adam was enjoying the race of his career at the Tour de France, fellow Orica-Scott rider Simon was working on his comeback from a doping scandal that threatened to derail his fledgling career.

That Yates came through that nightmare not only unscathed but went on to enjoy a brilliant second half of the season speaks volumes of his attitude and ability.

Yates was banned for four months – missing the Tour de France as a result – after failing a doping test for asthma medication due to an administrative error by the Orica team doctor.

But the 24-year-old returned to win the Prueba Villafranca and finish fourth at the Vuelta a Burgos before bagging the first Grand Tour stage win of his career at the Vuelta a Espana.

Yates could not quite match his brother’s overall achievement, ultimately finishing sixth on GC, but two Grand Tour top-ten finishes between them in 2016 points to a very bright future.

The Yates twins and Colombia’s Esteban Chaves are leading Orica-Scott’s charge for the future, and the three young riders make an enviable three-pronged attack for 2017.

Owain Doull (Team Sky)

Owain Doull has trodden a similar path to Dibben, coming through the British Cycling Academy and impression on both the road and track, so it’s fitting that he too has joined Team Sky for 2017 – though Doull’s signing was already confirmed pre-Olympics.

Were it not for his focus on the team pursuit at the Rio Olympics, Doull, 23, might have already stepped up to WorldTour level after a hugely impressive third place at the 2015 Tour of Britain.

But, after helping power the British team to gold in Rio, Doull has made the step-up. Doull’s ability across differing terrain came to the fore at the 2015 Tour of Britain, where he proved he can mix it with the best, and he is hoping strong performances early in the season – including a WorldTour debut at the Tour Down Under – will help him earn selection for the cobbled Classics.

Chris Froome (Team Sky)

Three-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome continued to go from strength to strength in 2016, with his yellow jersey a magnificent display of his all-round ability on the bike.

An ungainly, but super-effective, descent of the Col de Peyresourde set the tone, while he also put time into his rivals with a well-timed break on what had appeared a sprinter’s stage in the second week.

Froome also bagged stage wins against the clock – a feat he repeated at the Vuelta a Espana – and were it not for missing the vital break on stage 15 of that race, a stage which effectively won Nairo Quintana the race, Froome could have been celebrating a momentous Grand Tour double.

As it is, 2016 saw him move third on the all-time list of British pro wins, with his ten victories – a tally which included overall wins at the Tour, Criterium du Dauphine and Herald Sun Tour, taking him to 38 victories in total.

Froome’s 2017 season is set to kick off with the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, with both the Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana on the cards again.

Having finished in the top two in seven of the last eight Grand Tours he has finished, that Tour-Vuelta double is certainly a possibility in 2017.

Tao Geoghegan Hart (Team Sky)

The third British neo-pro to have signed for Team Sky in 2017 has already pulled on the team’s colours before, with Tao Geoghegan Hart having been a stagiaire with Sky in 2015.

Rather than turning pro at the end of that year, however, Hackney-born Geoghegan Hart opted for another year with Axel Merckx’s talent factory – the Axeon-Hagens Berman team in America.

That decision helped him top the youth classification at the Tour of the Gila, before two 12^th place finishes at the Tour of California and Tour of Utah sandwiched a stage win and runners-up spot at the Tour de Savoie Mont Blanc.

The 21-year-old has also topped the youth classification at the USA Pro Challenge during his time with Merckx’s team and is a former podium finisher at the Paris-Roubaix juniors race.

Best known for his climbing and GC potential, however, we expect Geoghegan Hart to be honing his skills in the mountains in 2017.

Luke Rowe (Team Sky)

Welshman Luke Rowe might serve as inspiration to the likes of fellow countryman Owain Doull, having served his apprenticeship with Team Sky and gone on to become an important part of the team’s arsenal.

It is at the Classics where Rowe undoubtedly has the most potential, becoming one of Sky’s leaders in the spring and rewarding them with fifth place at the Tour of Flanders.

But the 26-year-old has also been an important part of the team’s Tour de France squad in the last two seasons – helping to protect Chris Froome and set the pace on the flat.

Rowe still has just a solitary Tour of Britain stage win to his name so far, but he has proved himself on the cobbles and he will again be a man to watch in the spring.

Ian Stannard (Team Sky)

Luke Rowe forms one part of Team Sky’s Brit-led Classics arsenal, but Ian Stannard has also earned his place as one of the key riders in the spring, as evidenced by his third place at last year’s Paris-Roubaix.

That result equaled the best-ever British finish at the Hell of the North and Stannard has proven his potential across the board at the Classics, finishing third at E3 Harelbeke in 2016, while he has twice won the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.

The 29-year-old took his career tally to five pro wins at the end of last season too, winning from a day-long breakaway on a gruelling stage of the Tour of Britain.

The 6’2” Team Sky man is hard as nails, and following his podium place at Paris-Roubaix last year will have plenty of eyes on him this spring.

Geraint Thomas (Team Sky)

Geraint Thomas, like Stannard, Froome and Kennaugh, has been with Team Sky since the squad’s 2010 inception and has established himself as one of the team’s leading riders.

Victory at the Volta ao Algarve kick-started his 2016 season, before he went on to claim overall victory at Paris-Nice – Thomas’ first overall WorldTour stage race victory.

He has also enjoyed Classics success, triumphing at E3 Harelbeke in 2015 and finishing third at Gent-Wevelgem that same year, but the 30-year-old Welshman is now pinning his colours to the Grand Tour mast.

A key part of Chris Froome’s three Tour de France stage wins, Thomas has hinted at targeting a Grand Tour for himself – namely the Giro d’Italia – in 2017.

Ben Swift (UAE Abu Dhabi)

Ben Swift ended a long association with Team Sky to sign for the former Lampre-Merida team in the winter, though that almost proved his undoing with the team scrabbling for funds when their proposed Chinese sponsors backed out.

However, the team was rescued by investment from Abu Dhabi and now, riding for the Emirati team, Swift is out to prove exactly what he can achieve.

A versatile rider, Swift finished second at Milan-San Remo in 2016 – his second podium finish at La Primavera – and eighth overall at the Tour of Britain, but the 29-year-old Yorkshireman has just one victory to his name since the start of the 2015 season.

Ill-timed injuries have not helped his cause, and neither has the depth of talent at Team Sky’s disposal, so Swift’s move to the former Lampre team could revitalise him as a rider.

Mark Cavendish and Steve Cummings have shown exactly what a change of teams can do, and if Swift can follow suit then 2017 promises to be a big year.

And what about the other British and Irish riders?

One step down from the UCI WorldTour, there are also six Brits and four Irish riders signed to UCI ProContinental teams for 2017.

The formation of new Irish team Aqua Blue Sport has, unsurprisingly, seen many of them snapped up – including British champion Adam Blythe – and with 37 WorldTour races and wildcard entries to be filled, the ten riders should see plenty of top-level action in 2017. But who are they?

British UCI ProContinental riders

Adam Blythe (Aqua Blue Sport) – age 27 – British champion Adam Blythe has joined his fifth team in as many years after Tinkoff, where he raced in 2016, folded. Blythe’s national championship win was the eighth victory of the sprinter-cum-Classics rider’s career.

Mark Christian (Aqua Blue Sport) – age 26 – Manxman Mark Christian impressed with Team Wiggins in 2016, finishing fifth at the Tour Alsace and 12^th at the Tour of Britain to earn a first contract at ProConti level for 2017.

It was raining so I had to wear black today. Nice to get some good feelings back, the Christmas belly has almost gone! ????

A photo posted by Adam Blythe (@adamblythe89) on Jan 5, 2017 at 10:33am PST

Andrew Fenn (Aqua Blue Sport) – age 26 – Scottish rider Andy Fenn left Team Sky in the winter after two years as a domestique there and will bring Classics experience to Aqua Blue Sport.

Dan Pearson (Aqua Blue Sport) – age 22 – Another rider to swap Team Wiggins for Aqua Blue Sport, Dan Pearson finished the 2016 season with an 11^th place overall at the Abu Dhabi Tour, making him the best-placed Brit in the race.

Dan McLay (Foruneo-Vital Concept) – age 25 – Wily sprinter Dan McLay shot to prominence in 2016 thanks to a stunning showcase of his sprinting prowess at the GP de Denain. GP de la Somme success followed, before four top-ten finishes in the first week of his Tour de France debut.

Mark McNally (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) – age 27 – Liverpool-born Mark McNally stepped up to ProConti level in 2016 and impressed as a domestique in the Spring Classics – playing his part in Enrico Gasparotto’s Amstel Gold Race win. He concluded the year with second place on stage six of the Eneco Tour, his best WorldTour result to date.

Martyn Irvine (Aqua Blue Sport) – age 31 – The darling of Irish cycling, Martyn Irvine became his country’s first world track champion when he won scratch race gold in 2013. Failure to qualify for Rio 2016 led to him retiring, but Aqua Blue Sport have tempted back into the peloton.

Stephen Clancy (Team Novo Nordisk) – age 24 – Stephen Clancy is starting his fifth season with the all-diabetic Team Novo Nordisk. Every member of the team has diabetes, with the team’s goal to prove diabetes should be no barrier to sport.