With bikes all the rage in London as the glamorous Tour de France comes to call, Scottish Cycling is quietly pedalling on with its own agenda, designed to groom the next wave of champions.
Scotland's honour roll has been impressive of late, with Chris Hoy, Craig MacLean, Ross Edgar, James McCallum and Kate Cullen all excelling at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.
But, wary of complacency, Olympic talent team coach Gary Willis is busy identifying new prospects to keep the country's trophy cabinet well stocked in the future.
One of the brightest young stars is Patrick Galbraith, who is dominating his category of the Scottish Power Youth Series.
Galbraith is hungry for the competition and all training that accompanies it.
"I like five hour rides in winter when they get really tough," he said.
"I used to think that you just jump on a bike and go hard, but I have found that the skills are so much more important as you start to move up levels."
Willis calls Galbraith "an exceptional" talent and has duly integrated the 14-year-old early into his "talent team", which is normally reserved for 15 and 16-year-olds.
"I think a proper career would mean riding the Tour de France, and that's what I want to do"
"He is physically capable now so let's bring him on. Rather than age, it's ability focused and he's quite a mature lad."
The next step up for Galbraith is the "junior" programme, by which time he'll be training six times per week and regularly spending five hours on the road at a time.
But the long term aim is far more ambitious than that.
Willis has set his sights on the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in 2010, on London 2012 and on the mouth-watering prospect of Glasgow hosting the 2014 Commonwealths, should it win that bid.
To maximise the chances of success, he thinks it essential that cyclists learn a range of skills, which the Youth Series - hosted half on road and half on track - encourages.
"We need riders with that skill base and we need youngsters out there and racing instead of coaching. There is a coach culture in tennis but no-one is actually competing," he said.
"I believe in competition and the age at which cyclists can compete internationally is getting younger and younger. Blooding them at 19-21 is not unrealistic any more."
The examples of others help a great deal as well.
"Chris Hoy and Craig MacLean take time out to do coaching sessions. And that gives a big lift to youngsters, who see that they are just normal guys with two arms and two legs," said Willis, who also appreciates the wider set-up around him.
"The Scottish Institute for Sport offers nutritional support, medical help and, crucially, a lifestyle advisor, who talks to school teachers about making time for the intensive training.
"For me as a coach, it works really well for us. It's about striking that balance. This is a about training hard but its also a personal development programme."
"We have a really strong programme - exciting times are ahead"
But it is also about breeding success be it for Commonwealths, Olympics or even the Tour de France.
Galbraith cites his role models as the "cyclists that used to ride the Tour in the old days".
And Willis believes that putting Scottish stars on Le Tour's Paris podium is not beyond the realms of possibility.
"It is a realistic hope. But it takes 10 years to nurture an Olympian and a few more than that to ride a Tour," he said.
"We have a really strong programme and it gives a good opportunity. It's whether people take that opportunity. But exciting times are ahead."
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