“This may be the only time I’m British road race champion in my career,” he confesses. “If I can make the most of it, and show off being the national champion as a national champion should that’s the main thing for me.”

If he needs inspiration he need only look at the last man to have pulled on the jersey, Team Sky’s Manxman Peter Kennaugh, who Blythe admits was the perfect national champion in the two years he held the title.

Kennaugh won races on the biggest stages, including at the Criterium du Dauphine, and when he wasn’t racing for himself was a regular presence on the front of the bunch, pulling for his team-mates.

“Pete Kennaugh was a brilliant national champion,” Blythe reflects. “Always getting up there and racing and making the jersey visible – so that’s the main thing for me.”

It’s a more measured Adam Blythe to the rider who won at RideLondon to crown what had been a stellar season for then British new boys NFTO.

For Blythe then, the rewards were immediate: moving straight back up to WorldTour level to ride with Orica-GreenEDGE, before re-uniting with NFTO directeur sportif Sean Yates at Tinkoff last season.

His latest move, to Aqua Blue Sport, has echoes of his switch to NFTO however, where stepping down from UCI WorldTour level saw him reap the rewards of being able to ride for himself.

Already Blythe and his new team-mates have been able to test themselves at the Dubai Tour, while the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad will be the British champion’s first WorldTour race of the season.

Alongside the Omloop, Aqua Blue Sport have already received wildcards to the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, and will soon be at La Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege for the Ardennes Classics.

Certainly, the opportunity to race at cycling’s top level have been plentiful already but for Blythe this season is more a chance to prove himself.

“My target ultimately is to get the most out of myself,” he insists. “We’re not 100 per cent on the race programme yet, but it’s about making the most of what I’ve got and hopefully that will mean results. For me, and the team, results are obviously important.

“I think it can be a big year. It’s nice to have a two-year contract with the team, which will allow me to grow with them.

“It means I can take the time to get to know my team-mates, and what works well together. But I definitely hope it can be a big year for me.”

So what would constitute a good year for Blythe and Aqua Blue Sport? Again, the 27-year-old offers a considered response, a measure of the maturity he has developed through the past few years.

“I think you need to be realistic with yourself,” he offers. “Sometimes you don’t realise how hard racing is, and other times you do realise and talk yourself out of it before you’ve even got out there.

“For me, it’s just about getting up there in as many races as I can and not putting too much pressure on myself, but ensuring there’s the right amount of pressure when I need to.”