Remember when Team Sky first launched amid all the talk of ants and chimps there was also much made of the the British super-team's secret weapon… their team bus. What with its special seats, cinema, showers and sound system all aimed at cocooning the riders in the best pre and post race environment to make sure even the most marginal of potential gains were aggregated. It's big and it's black and on the circuit they call it the Death Star… even Team Sky seem to call it that (which suggests they haven't been watching Star Wars on in onboard cinema.

People don't talk about the bus much any more which is odd because it seems  to have been doing it's job and if you see it at a race it's a very impressive piece of kit indeed – even parked up next to all the other team buses at the Tour.

Fancy a look inside? Come on then let's hop aboard and marvel at just how many energy bars you can fit in cupboard (and that's just the pre-race nutrition apparently), the showers the cinema… and just how flippin' loud those seats are, and most impressive of alll the way they can make the glass in the meeting room go frosted at the touch of a button.  Our guide (and it's big enough to need a guide) is ex-Team Sky rider, Dario Cioni – now the on of Sky Pro-Cycling's business manager in Italy.

Take it away Dario…