Cavendish completes Sky switch

World champion road cyclist Mark Cavendish has completed his anticipated move to Team Sky. The 26-year-old Manxman, a product of the British Cycling performance programme, will race for the British-based team from next year.

Dave Brailsford, the Team Sky Principal who also doubles as British Cycling’s performance director, said: “Mark is a born winner and what excites me most is the attitude he brings to all the teams he rides for. We want to inspire more fans to get into cycling and I can think of no-one better to help us do that.”

Last month, Cavendish became the first British man to win the world title since 1965, the crowning achievement of a season which also saw him win the sprinter’s green jersey in the Tour de France. “Mark is the greatest sprinter of his generation and is well on his way to becoming the greatest of all time,” Brailsford added. “He is a rider of exceptional talent who has proved his pedigree at the very highest level of our sport.”

Cavendish has won 20 Tour de France stages and a further 10 stages across the two other Grand Tours, the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a Espana. He joins a team which has a British backbone – as well as Brailsford at the helm, Cavendish will find several GB team-mates, including three-time Olympic champion Bradley Wiggins and Geraint Thomas.