It’s always a pleasure catching up with Sky’s Ian Boswell, who calls Nice home and is key member of my cake-tasting team. 

Ian’s made his maiden visit to Australia to take part in the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race and Jayco Sun Herald Tour, along with his house/teammate, Peter Kennaugh.

Rewarded with a fourth season at Sky after top ten finishes in the Tours of Langkawi and California, not forgetting a podium place (3rd) on stage 11 at the Vuelta a Espana, Ian was typically upbeat and all smiles at the start of his season, which is scheduled to include riding the Giro d’Italia in support of Sky-mate Mikel Landa.

Ian arrived in Australia a week before the racing began, which gave him and the Sky boys plenty of time to investigate the fabulous Great Ocean Road and its rainforest hinterland. He’s finding similarities between laid-back Victoria and his home in Oregon, particularly with regard to the coffee (and cake) culture, plus the abundance of fresh seasonal produce.

.@theboz91 always wears protection !!! pic.twitter.com/VYqOFMvIKp

— Luke Rowe (@LukeRowe1990) February 5, 2016

This past week or so, Ian’s wisely been plastering on the sun block to protect his fair, freckled skin and laying himself on the line to ensure Sky left Australia with yet another yellow jersey. Today is his 25th birthday and his efforts this week should be rewarded with (of course) cake!

Job well done for Sebastian Henao and The Boz

We’ll both be back in Nice next week and I should have enough time to whip up some baked goodies before he heads off to South Africa – another first for Ian – with team leader Chris Froome, for a further training block in the sunshine.

Ian, enjoy your [birth]day in the sun!

Check out Ian’s website, follow him on Twitter @theboz91, Instagram and Facebook.