Chris Opie has never felt better on the eve of a cycling season.

The 29-year-old, from Truro, will make his debut for new British professional outfit BIKE Channel Canyon at the Perfs Pedal on Sunday.

And he will arrive in Portsmouth, where he triumphed in 2012, with his best-ever winter behind him.

The former ONE Pro Cycling sprinter said: "I have had such a good winter. I don’t think I have ever had such a good run of training. I have only missed one full day so far and that was just precautionary. I have never set as many records as I have this winter. Whether it is Strava records, power records, it has been incredible.

"I am so motivated. To be part of such a positive team is a huge boost. Being happy counts for everything. That is the one thing in life which means something. Being part of this team is huge in that and it is motivating me massively.

"I think that is why my winter has gone so well, to be honest. It has all been in Cornwall. And when the weather has been bad, luckily I have been able to get out on the mountain bike.

"I can’t think of a single winter that has been anywhere near as good as this one. I just can’t wait to start racing now."

Opie will line up alongside reigning champion Rory Townsend, Rob Partridge, James Lowsley-Williams, Mitchell Webber and Alex Richardson at the 74km Perfs Pedal - the curtain-raiser for the domestic road racing season.

And he is confident of putting on a good show, despite not having the luxury of a winter training camp to get to know his new team-mates.

He said: "I am looking forward to it. Perfs is fun and it is on a really, really good circuit.

"I want to get there and for us all to look at each other and feel good enough to do what we want in the race. Hopefully we will meet up the day before. It doesn’t make up for a training camp but we are all adults, we are all professional bike riders and we are all in the team for a reason.

"So I don’t think there will be any problems. It will all go smoothly as long as we communicate - that is the key."

Follow Chris's progress on social media, via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and on the race team’s official website www.bikechannelcanyon.co.uk