Cycling: Cavendish reaches for Sky in pursuit of Olympic dream

Team Sky boss Dave Brailsford believes Mark Cavendish’s 2012 Olympic cycling dream now has a “big advantage” after he joined the British outfit.

The Manxman, who is favourite to win the men’s road race on the opening Saturday of the Games, ended long-running speculation by joining Bradley Wiggins at Team Sky.

And team principal Brailsford believes that can only be good news for the host nation’s Olympic cycling squad with conflicts of interest over professional and national commitments kept to a minimum.

Brailsford said: “We formed Team Sky in the belief that if we could get all the Great Britain riders together it would give us a competitive advantage in both their professional and national programmes. To have it all as part and parcel of the same process is a big advantage.

“In the past, as (GB) performance director, I had to rely on the goodwill and altruism of the professional teams to accommodate us.

“It has always presented a dilemma for us, but in this case it can turn out to be a big advantage. We can sit down and say what our specific targets are, and how best can we achieve them.”

Team Sky have also announced the signing of Cavendish’s friend and former HTC-Highroad team-mate Bernie Eisel, who is highly rated in the cycling community.

Brailsford added: “Mark has got an unbelievable, contagious confidence. He looks at every detail and he works so hard on everything.”