Cavendish a Yorkshire Man?

Mark Cavendish backs Yorkshire's Tour de France bid


Mark Cavendish and Ben Swift are backing Yorkshire's bid to bring the Tour de France to the county in 2016.

Cavendish, who won the green jersey last year for being the Tour's best sprinter, said: "My mum is from Yorkshire so I'm proud to be backing the Yorkshire 2016 bid."
Team Sky team-mate Ben Swift said he would love to see a stage of the race run in his home county. "It would be amazing to be part of the peloton through the Dales," he said.

The first two days of racing, the Grand Depart, are held in a new location outside France every two years.

The Yorkshire Grand Depart has a great ring to it !!!!!!!!!

The Yorkshire Tourism Agency called 'Welcome to Yorkshire' say that the route would take in Leeds, Scarborough, York, Hull, Sheffield and the Yorkshire Dales.

Yorkshire is competing against Barcelona, Venice, Berlin and Scotland for the right to host the 2016 stages. Stages were last held in the UK in 2007 when London and Kent played host.

Cavendish, who has won 20 Tour de France stages, believes the county's natural beauty will prove attractive to the race's organisers.

"The county would provide a stunning backdrop to the Tour as well as a real test for the competitors," he said. "I have fond memories of holidaying in Yorkshire, a lot of my family still live there and it would be fantastic if the world's greatest cycle race could come to Yorkshire."

Swift added: "It's special to say you've raced the Tour de France, I'm proud to be able to say I have. I would love to see the Tour come to my home county, and I hope Welcome to Yorkshire can make it happen in 2016."

More than 185 countries around the world show the Tour de France every year on 92 different television channels with the last hour of every stage broadcast live across western Europe.

Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, wants the public to back the bid by signing a petition on their Back le Bid website.

"Some may see us as outsiders but we think Yorkshire has a lot to offer, not just our stunning scenery but the passion of our people and the expertise we have in hosting world class sporting events," he said.

Being a Yorkshire man I am totally behind and will do what I can to provide support please visit the
 Back le Bid website. and pledge your support

Inspiration

Today saw me break the 1000 mile mark for the year. Last year I did over 1000 miles in March alone so I am a bit behind both in Mileage and my annual weight loss.
Its a tough time...........The days are now getting longer and excuses shorter.
The usual commutes to work and occasional weekend rides are now replaced by obligatory commute extensions and longer rides at the weekend.

Although the cycle patterns have changed the weather has not - its still cold and icy, with lashings of rain.
Its far more suited to sitting in the lounge bar of your favorite pub than cycling in multiple layers. My legs have only been on show twice !!!!!!!!!

When my alarm goes off at 5am the birds may well be singing, but its still dark and I'm not quite ready for a duet.
The temptation is always to hit the snooze button multiple times, until its impossible to cycle for fear of being late.
When presented with those moments I used to think WWLD (What would Lance Do?)
That would always do the trick and Id be up and away.

Unfortunately my body has become immune to WWLD as some of the answers have become a bit ambiguous.
So I now look for new inspiration and WOW there is a lot of choice out there.

When I first got into cycling there was very little British interest in the Tour de France and I had to look to the track to find my first cycling Hero - Graham Obree 'The Flying Scotsman'.
Who flew around the track in such a position that I felt uncomfortable just watching.
A radical genius and tortured soul. Hero Status 9/10.
Then there was Chris Boardman, a reluctant Hero. His achievements were undeniable but he never really got me excited especially when he could only ever do a few days of the tour before retiring. Hero Status 6/10

After supporting American riders for years along comes Bradley, who I think maybe one of the best all round cyclists this country has ever seen. He has Pace, durability, Stamina and always seems totally relaxed and unfazed.

He would score 10/10 but being a Liverpool FC football fan I do have concerns about his mental health. Hero Score 9/10
Cav the boy Racer. World road Champion - Don't you just love him.

People say he is arrogant - not me. Every time a microphone is put in front of him he shows remarkable humility and always credits his team for any of his personal achievements. He is fast and very passionate. Hero Status 10/10

In the UK we have two brothers who can swim, cycle, and run pretty much faster than everyone in the world - The Brownlee brothers. They are from Yorkshire too - Where else. Hero Status 9/10
Vicky Pendalton has been the pin up girl of women's cycling for years now. You are now more likely to see her in a glamour magazine than on a cycle. Whilst the cameras have been focused on her, another star has emerged. - Joanna Rowsell
Joanna Rowsell is the new women's cycling sensation and pursuit champion and she has the attitude that makes hero makers purr.

Having lost all of her hair through Alopecia many young girls would avoided the public performance - Not Joanna -the 23 year old has used her condition to spur herself on and to draw the Camera away from the glamour to what really matters - The cycling. To see her ride is truly a thing of beauty. Hero Status 10/10

Last August Karen my friend, and wife of one of my closest friends had a tragic cycling accident in Texas whilst preparing for the annual Hotter than Hell ride. She had to be air lifted to Houston Memorial Hospital with a serious head injury. Her recovery has been slow and frustrating and she is still not well enough to return to work. This week she has an eye operation to try and help speed up her recovery. Myself and all of the Mules wish her well. If ever I needed an inspiration of courage and guts Karen provides it daily. Hero Status 10/10.

Paddy my twin brother has been the driving force behind the Travels with my Mule cycling team (The Mules) in the USA and whatever the weather he is out there, bullying, coaxing, encouraging, supporting. Whatever it takes to get folks cycling and smiling.

He would be the first to admit that his own personal fitness and weight have hindered his own aspirations and he has sometimes struggled to overcome this.

Not this year though.!!!!!!!

This year he is an inspiration. Fitter, lighter and stronger and starting to look like a cyclist rather than a cycle enthusiast. Hero Status 11/10

The snooze button is no Option

Cavendish comes home

At last the speculation is over

British cycling star Mark Cavendish has announced he will be joining Team Sky for the start of next season.
Cavendish won the green jersey as the 2011 Tour de France's best sprinter and then added the world road race title.
"I'm confident that we can achieve success and my aim is to win stages and the green jersey at the Tour de France," he told Sky Sports News.
Team Sky principal Dave Brailsford added: "What excites me is the attitude he brings to the teams he rides for."
One of Cavendish's wingmen, Austrian Bernhard Eisel, will also join Team Sky next season.
Cavendish, 26, is rated as one of the greatest-ever sprinters in the sport's history.
He won five stages at this year's Tour de France with HTC-Highroad to take his tally to 20 in total, claiming the prestigious Maillot Vert - awarded to the best sprinter -for the first time in his career.

Then in September, the Isle of Man cyclist became Britain's first male world road race champion for 46 years when his eight-man GB team helped him to victory over the 266km course in Denmark.
Cavendish has also secured a further 10 Grand Tour stage victories in his career, as well as the overall points title at the 2010 Vuelta a Espana.

CAVENDISH'S CAREER
Wins gold in the madison at the track cycling world championships in Los Angeles in March 2005.
Secures Melbourne Commonwealth Games scratch gold medal for the Isle of Man in March 2006.
Takes madison gold in track cycling world championships in Manchester alongside Bradley Wiggins in March 2008.
In July 2008, he wins four stages of the Tour de France but, a month later, fails to win an Olympic medal
Becomes only the second Briton after Robert Millar to win stages in all three grand tours after success on stage 12 of Vuelta a Espana in September 2010.
Awarded MBE in Queen's Birthday Honours in June 2011.
Wins final stage in Paris to make certain of the green jersey at 2011 Tour de France and take total stage victories tally to 20.
In September, he wins gold medal at the Road World Championships.

His future had been subject of speculation since August when HTC-Highroad stated that it would fold at the end of the 2011 season after failing to find a sponsor.
Team Sky's lead rider Bradley Wiggins hailed his compatriot's decision to join the Manchester-based outfit.
"I think I speak for everyone in the squad when I say that we're all delighted to have Cav joining us at Team Sky," he added.
"He is the best sprinter in the world and has an energy and passion for cycling that is infectious. We have enjoyed a fantastic second season and Mark's signing is another statement of our intent for next year and beyond."
Team-mate Geraint Thomas said Cavendish will enjoy a smooth transfer.
"In many ways it's like he's coming home - the team has a number of riders and support staff that he grew up with and it won't take him any time to settle in," said Thomas.
"I think everyone saw that when we helped him to victory for Great Britain at the Worlds, and we are all looking forward to helping him deliver more wins for Team Sky."

Team Sky began competition in January 2010 and is led by Brailsford, who is British Cycling's performance director. Brailsford stated in 2009 that his aim was to have a British winner of the Tour de France by 2014.

Nice one Bradley

Winning gold on the back of winning the Tour would perhaps put me into a different bracket as an athlete,' says Bradley Wiggins.

Bradley Wiggins is targeting both the Tour de France yellow jersey and Olympic gold next summer and believes British Cycling will decide in the next few weeks which events he should target at the London Games.

Fresh from winning silver in the world time trial in Copenhagen and helping Mark Cavendish to gold in the road race, Wiggins said he believes more strongly than ever that securing an unprecedented double is possible.

"I've done the Olympics, this will be my fourth, I've been there and got the golds. They haven't changed my life but winning the Tour would certainly change my life," he said. "Winning gold on the back of winning the Tour would certainly change my life and perhaps put me into a different bracket as an athlete."

Wiggins said it was the prospect of combining a serious challenge in the Tour, in which he finished fourth in 2009 but had to withdraw with a broken collarbone this year, with an Olympic challenge that had fired his enthusiasm for the Games.

"It's never been done so I think if I wasn't doing the tour next year and I was just going back to do the team pursuit and I had the winter to look forward to of going back on the track, the World Cups, the world championships in March and all that it wouldn't excite me at all," said the six-times Olympic medallist.

"I would really not be looking forward to it. The only way I'd ever do the track now is by coming back off the road. It's got to excite you to be able to do it."

The Team Sky rider – who has three Olympic golds, a silver and two bronzes in his collection – said he saw winning the Tour and securing a medal at the Games, which starts days after the Champs-Elysées finish to the Tour, as two halves of the same challenge.

"As crazy as it sounds to everyone, I don't see it as compromising one for the other. That's what I want to do – it's not a case of justifying why I'm doing it either," said Wiggins. "This is what I want to do, follow me and see what the results are and we'll talk about it afterwards. I'm doing it."

He said completing the Tour of Spain after breaking his collarbone and completing "the time trial of my life" at the world championships proved he could compete in both disciplines.

Wiggins said that given the choice he would compete in "everything" at the Olympics but he is likely to target the team pursuit on the track over the time trial on the road. "I'll ride the event I've got most chance of winning gold in and at this stage that will probably be the team pursuit, I imagine," he said. He said his coach, Shane Sutton, and others at British Cycling had "probably" already made the decision and expected to hear in "the next few weeks".

Wiggins, who set Cavendish up for his momentous victory on the final lap, hailed a "fantastic team performance" that helped the Manx rider to gold.

"Our plan worked perfectly. We always knew if we got him to that finish straight he'd be the fastest rider there. That's part of the belief the whole team had, that's why there was such commitment from everyone because knew Mark was going to finish it off," he said. "It's like a football team with the best striker in the world. Our job was quite easy in some respects in that we knew there was a 99% chance he was going to finish it off. It was an incredible day."

Wiggins said being able to hit the front with a lap to go was the "dream scenario". "It was like a relay race and we handed on the baton in perfect position each time until the home straight where I was able to give Mark the home stretch. It was phenomenal really," said Wiggins.

"I was always expecting the shit to hit the fan. I was like a dog on a leash who kept being held back to take over the reins with a lap to go. It couldn't have gone better really."

Displaying the focus that has been a feature of the evolution of British Cycling over the past decade, Wiggins said home advantage would not be a factor.

"It could be in Baghdad or anywhere it shouldn't change the performance in that velodrome," he said. "I haven't seen the velodrome, I don't really want to see it. That sounds dull but I don't want it to have any bearing or impetus on it. It shouldn't change the performance that day because the crowd's made up of more Brits or your family is there."

Owen Gibson guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 27 September 2011

Mr Blue Sky

Sooooooooooooooo Exciting !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Velo Nation Reports :- Team Sky have announced their nine-man team for the 98th edition of the Tour de France, starting on 2 July at the Passage du Gois.

Bradley Wiggins, who came fourth in 2009 to equal the best ever Tour de France finish by a British rider, and recently won the prestigious Critérium du Dauphiné, will lead the squad which includes fellow Brits Geraint Thomas, who will be riding his third Tour de France, and Ben Swift who will be making his debut in the event.

Talented young Norwegian Edvald Boasson Hagen will make his second Tour de France appearance after last year's debut where he secured two podium finishes. Joining him will be Colombia's Rigoberto Urán, both having proved key strengths in the mountains at the Critérium du Dauphiné.

The line up features experienced Grand Tour riders including Spanish duo Juan Antonio Flecha, who will be making his ninth Tour de France appearance, and Xabier Zandio, who has previously ridden in the event five times. They will be joined by Germany's reigning Road Race Champion Christian Knees, who will be riding in his ninth Grand Tour, and Simon Gerrans, previous stage winner in all three Grand Tours.

Tour de France squad named
Team Sky have also revealed that all kit, bikes, equipment and vehicles will change from blue to green for all 21 stages of the race to help raise awareness and support for Sky Rainforest Rescue, a three year partnership between Sky and WWF to help save a billion trees in the state of Acre, northwest Brazil.



Teamwork
All of the riders, with the exception of Swift who has sprinted to five stage wins already this season, helped Wiggins to his impressive victory in the Dauphiné earlier this month and Team Principal Dave Brailsford explained: "This is a strong and balanced team with a real depth of talent to cater for all the race's challenges, from the team time trial to its high mountain finishes.

"The squad have raced and trained together consistently well and are full of confidence after excellent results at Bayern Rundfhart and the Critérium du Dauphiné.

"There is a great blend of experience and youth in our squad. As well as riders like Bradley, Flecha, Simon, Christian and Xabier who have ridden the Grand Tours on numerous occasions, the line up also includes some of the peloton's brightest young talents in Edvald, Geraint, Rigoberto and Ben. We have a really exciting team that can't wait for 2 July."

Brailsford is particularly looking forward to Swift's first appearance in cycling's blue riband event, adding: "I am delighted that Ben Swift will be making his Tour debut, he is enjoying a breakthrough season with five wins already and he will absolutely thrive on this opportunity to test himself on the biggest stage of all."

Relishing the challenge
The action gets under way in little over a week and the riders themselves head to the race full of confidence following those recent successes, with Dauphiné hero Wiggins confirming: "The team is in great shape, full of confidence and riding well.

"We all want to put on a good show for our fans as their support for the team throughout this season has been incredible. It's going to be a great three weeks of racing."

That was echoed by Swift who told us: "Competing in the Tour de France is what every young rider dreams of and I'm really excited about the challenge ahead. The team is riding well and we can't wait to get going against the world's best riders."

Yellow is the colour

This week the weather has changed. Gone are the northerly winds, now replaced by winds from the south bringing much milder weather. Although they have brought rain, they have also brought the sort of temperatures that have enabled me to give my legs an airing.

When the rain has stayed off, I have even been tempted remove my bright yellow fluorescent coat. But that would currently spoil natures symmetry.

The roads are now lined with rows of daffodils, nodding away behind the safety of roadside kerbs, like crowds of spectators egging me on towards the finish line.

There has also been a noticeable increase in cycle traffic. Roadies are now out there in abundance showing off this seasons Lycra shirts, and increasing the felling of fellowship.

Whether they are commuting, training or just wanting to fill their lungs with something different from recycled air. I embrace their company.
The racing season has also got underway, along with the indoor world cycling championship.

I am following developments with interest especially the expectations of the new teams from Radioshack with the great man himself, and The British based Team Sky with Bradley Wiggins. One of my other favorites Mark Cavendish (also sporting yellow) has had some early season teething problems, not with his bike, but his actual teeth!!!

However I am pleased to report that he has just captured his first win of the year after sprinting to victory in stage two of the Tour of Catalunya from Salt to Banyoles.

It will be interesting to see who wears the real yellow at the business end of the season.
For me I have 22 days left till I start my big ride, from Houston to Austin and then from Natchez to Nashville. My bag has appeared in my spare room and I have started packing.

I have also started to get some new tunes on my I Pod. Until I started visiting Texas regularly Country Music was alien to me, but now I am a big fan. I am really looking forward to spending a night in Nashville after we finish our ride and having a country music overload.

One of my favorite country bands at the moment is Lady Antebellum

One song I will have to have comes from an entirely different genre.

Being a very poor singer, I have always been attracted to the more simple of songs when i sung to my children. I use the term singing very loosely, but as a father you have to try, anything to send them off to sleep.

Even now my girls remember and say 'Dad' can you remember singing 'colours' to us.

Seeing the daffodils this week brought it all back to me.

Mr Blue Sky

We are about to find out if the sky really is the limit for British cycling.
The men who have masterminded unprecedented Olympic success for British riders on the track over the past decade are now using the same revolutionary methods to try to conquer the world on the road.
Team Sky, Britain's first professional road-racing team, was launched in a blaze of publicity at the start of January with the aim of providing a first British winner of the Tour de France by 2015 - but how will they attempt to do it?
Ahead of their first major race, the Tour Down Under in Australia which starts on 19 January, BBC Sport lined up team principal Dave Brailsford, team leader Bradley Wiggins and head coach Shane Sutton to find out.

GETTING OFF THE GROUND
After returning from the Beijing Olympics in 2008 with eight gold medals in the bag, Brailsford, British Cycling's performance director, was finally able to switch his focus to forming a British-based professional team that could compete at the highest level on the road.

The Team Sky launch was a slick and stylish event
The main requirement was a partner willing to bankroll the operation but, with Sky already backing track cycling, Brailsford did not have to look far to find a suitable sponsor, one that promises to raise the profile of the sport in the UK.
A five-year deal worth a reported £35m was signed in February 2009 and Brailsford said: "Sky found us as much as we found them. They had plans for a big project around participation in sport and the health of the nation - and decided cycling was something to get involved in."
Since the team's official launch on 4 January, the bulk of the team have been at a training camp in Valencia while head coach Shane Sutton's nephew Chris Sutton and Greg Henderson - who have spent the winter in Australia - have been joined by the other five riders that will form the Team Sky line-up in the Tour Down Under (TDU).
Henderson and Sutton gave Team Sky a dream debut by finishing first and second in their first event, Sunday's Cancer Council Helpline Classic in Adelaide, and hope to continue that momentum in the six-stage, 800km TDU.
"We want to kick off with a bit of a bang," said Sutton senior. "but after all the work to put this team together, it is more a feeling of relief than excitement right now."

THE RIDERS
"If our riders don't gel then they will not be able to work together," said Sutton, as he explained how combining "personality and ability" was behind Team Sky's team-building policy.
With Wiggins installed as team leader and a core of seven other British riders, he and Brailsford seem happy with the blend in their squad.
Sky are not a one man team - Brailsford
But assembling the Team Sky squad has not been without its problems.
Garmin and Katusha were publicly unhappy at the way they lost the services of Wiggins and Swift and, although Brailsford brushed aside talk of friction with rival teams, signing already-contracted riders is not behaviour that will win them many friends in the peloton.
Still, getting Wiggins on board was a major coup. He finished fourth in last year's Tour de France to equal the best-ever finish by a Briton and will be one of the contenders for the General Classification in this year's race.
"This is a British team," said Brailsford. "We are going out there to represent Britain and we needed a British leader. Bradley was the obvious candidate.

TEAM SKY'S BRITISH RIDERS
Bradley Wiggins
Geraint Thomas
Peter Kennaugh
Steve Cummings
Russell Downing
Chris Froome
Ian Stannard
Ben Swift
"Getting him in was a great achievement and, like him, we feel this is where he belongs."
Aside from Wiggins, Geraint Thomas and Peter Kennaugh are both bright British hopes for the future, and Norway's Edvald Boasson Hagen is seen as a major star in the making.
"Edvald is probably the most talented young rider in the peloton at the moment," said Wiggins.
"He is probably the biggest signing by Sky if you look at things overall. He is going to be the future of this team and it is quite frightening to think about what he can achieve."
There is plenty of experience too, with another Norwegian Kurt-Asle Arvesen and Canada's Michael Barry expected to provide a steadying influence as the team settles in competitively over the next few weeks.
But, from a British perspective, there is one notable absence on the Team Sky roster - Mark Cavendish, who is not only the best known rider on these shores following his six stage wins at the 2009 Tour de France but is also rated as the best sprinter on the planet.

Cavendish won six stages at the 2009 Tour de France
It is arguable that Team Sky are better off without him as the effort needed to deliver him stage victories in the manner of the 'train' of his Columbia team-mates could distract from the greater goal of overall victory.
Sutton, however, says he would already have the 24-year-old on board, if he could get him.
"I think 'Cav' could fit in anywhere," he explained. "We have worked very closely with him the past, have a great relationship with him from the track and we would not have to change anything to make space for him at Team Sky.
"We'd love to have him but he is under contract with Columbia right now and very happy with them."

BEHIND THE SCENES
The men who masterminded Team GB's rise to prominence in the velodrome are joined by a group whose background is firmly in road racing.
From British Cycling, Brailsford and Sutton are joined by psychiatrist Steve Peters and Rod Ellingworth, who coached the likes of Cavendish at the British Cycling Academy and whose new role will see him work closely with riders while they are in competition.
The team's strategic and tactical nous in road-racing will come from Sunderland and his sporting directors - Sean Yates, Marcus Ljungqvist, Steven de Jongh - all of whom were long-serving professional riders.
There will also be nutritionists, engineers and doctors at Team Sky's headquarters in Manchester, as well as at their permanent base in Quarrata, Tuscany - where around half the squad will live.

They will have access to equipment at cutting edge of sporting technology, with the team's new space-age bus - featuring individual stations for the riders - a shining example of how they will look to garner an advantage by any means possible.
Brailsford explained: "It's somewhere the riders will spend a lot of time.
"So we got our sports scientists in and said, 'How do we get a competitive advantage out of that space, pre-race and post-race? How do we make sure our guys are better recovered by the time they go to the hotel?'
"We didn't want our team bus to act just as a billboard - we are not just here to ride around and look good. It has to give us an advantage."
Another priority will be demonstrating the team's anti-doping ethos in a sport tainted by too many scandals in recent years.
"We will have our own in-house testing process and it will be done in liasion with the International Cycling Union and UK Sport," said Brailsford. "Our strategy will be to work hand in hand with the authorities and show that this is a clean team."

THE PLAN
"Sky could go out and sign Alberto Contador and win the Tour de France tomorrow but that would divert from our mission to win with a British rider within five years," says Sutton.
In an attempt to achieve that goal, Team Sky will follow the same system as Team GB - leaving no stone unturned in their preparations (or "controlling the controllable" as Brailsford puts it) and doing everything possible to get the best out of their riders.
Wiggins eyes Tour win
They hope to do that by mentoring and coaching them rather than directing and controlling them, using a rider-centric programme that will concentrate on assisting and improving individuals not the team.
It's not an approach that is common in professional cycling, but Brailsford is confident it will pay off.
"Our ambition isn't to change professional cycling but certainly we will approach it in the same way as everything else - we will pay attention to minor details and we will look for marginal gains," he explained.
"The philosophy of how you treat riders and how you treat people will be very much a part of this team.
"We will use technology too and we will look to other industries for inspiration. We will continue looking for fresh approaches but it will be more about us as a team rather than trying to influence the wider sport."
Will it work? Wiggins, who will be given a schedule this year to allow him to concentrate specifically on the Tour for the first time in his career, appears to think so.
"I'm always going to say that this is the best team in the world because I am paid to say it," Wiggins said. "But, honestly, from what I've seen so far we are heading in the right direction because Dave will always listen to what you say.
"I've noticed a big difference already in the way things are done and their professionalism, in a relaxed way, too. A lot of it is just common sense in looking after the riders but a lot of teams lack it.
"He's said right from the start that this is our team and he is not going to dictate to us what to do. Whatever things we think improving along the way, Dave is open to making this the best team in the world and he will change whatever he feels he needs to."

LE TOUR AND LONDON 2012
With the London Games just two-and-a-half years away, could diverting focus to the road team jeopardise Britain's hopes of repeating their incredible cycling success at the Athens and Beijing Olympics on home ground?
"If I had thought that, I would never have started this project," said Brailsford. "My own belief is that this will augment British cycling's prospects at the 2012 Games."

Thomas and Wiggins won track gold in the team pursuit at the 2008 Olympics
Brailsford, who is still British Cycling's performance director as well as Team Sky's team principal, points out that his dual role allows him to organise Britain's best endurance riders like Geraint Thomas so the Welshman can prepare for and compete in upcoming events like March's World Track Championships in Copenhagen, or the Commonwealth Games in October, without fearing a conflict of interest with his professional road team.
"Being able to manage both sides of that equation will give us a competitive advantage in the run-up to 2012," added Brailsford.
"I am totally opposed to the view that I might be diluting my efforts across two different fields. I actually think I am strengthening it."

MEASURING SUCCESS
There were no brash statements from Brailsford or Wiggins about planning to win this year's Tour de France at Team Sky's launch.
Both men know it would be foolhardy to make predictions like that - instead we got promises that Wiggins, and the rest of the squad, would be "the best they can be"... which is not exactly a statement of intent.
Having a five-year target also takes the pressure off the first 12 months somewhat but Sutton insists they are still aiming high in 2010.
"Everyone is going to throw you that line about just being the best they can be but ultimately this is about winning," said Sutton. "We want to win.

KEY DATES FOR TEAM SKY
Tour Down Under (19 Jan)
Paris-Nice (7 Mar)
Milan-San Remo (20 Mar)
Giro D'Italia (8 May)
Tour de France (3 Jul)
Tour of Britain (11 Sep)
"What we want from the season is to get some wins under our belts in one or two of the Classics [one-day races in western Europe] and show prominently in the Giro D'Italia with some stage wins there too.
"We are not putting people under pressure but I still believe in saying reach for the stars and, in our first year, that is getting on the podium at the Tour. That's where I'd like to think we can be at the end of the season."
It is already clear that the Tour is seen as Team Sky's top priority and Wiggins added: "Obviously the other races are really important and they are part of the bigger plan of the team and the development of the younger riders.
"But to be honest it the Tour is the only race that matters and the team is going to be judged on how we perform in it. So it remains the goal, and it has to be like that."

Edvald Boasson Hagen - The skys the Limit

Although close to 50 years old I am a relative novice to cycling, only taking it more seriously in the last few years. In many respects I feel that the same could be said about British cycling.
For years our achievements have been rare and have in some way provided a novelty factor for the garlic munchers across the English Channel.
Call me ignorant but winning the odd prologue does not count for me.
As I watched the cycling classics and grand tours I also used to play 'Spot the Brit'.
It was a difficult challenge, but I soon worked out that if you watched the support cars you might spot one. They were the domestiques, the ones fetching fresh water bottles.
Never expecting things to change my allegiances went to the US riders and my unashamed hero Lance Armstrong.
Then came along a certain David Brailsford who transformed British Track Cycling and gave us all household names to look up to.
Garden sheds were revisited and tyres were reinflated.
People suddenly took to the road and liked it and the best part was it was free.
Despite the recession cycle sales are now soaring.
That's obvious you might say........ people are buying bikes to go to work in to save fuel cost.
I fully accept that - but the actual biggest area of cycle sales are the top end performance bikes.
Every Weekend the roads are strewn with cycles taking part in events which are multiplying throughout the country. I used to have to travel half a day to enter an event, now there is always something local
With the Success of Mark Cavendish, Bradley Wiggins at this years Tour de France, British cyclists are now having water bottles brought to them, and quite right too.........
The Sky is the Limit
Next year we have the new Sky Team to look forward to.
The new team, funded by broadcasters BSkyB, will be managed by Brailsford, the GB performance director who was responsible for delivering 34 medals at the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics.
Having the top British cyclists training together should improve chances of success on the road at future World Championships and Olympic Games.
Team Sky squad so far:
Kurt Arvesen - 34, from Norway; has won stages of the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia and will be a mentor for young riders; part of Saxo Bank squad that included 2008 Tour de France winner Carlos Sastre and Frank and Andy Schleck.
John Lee Augustyn - 23, from South Africa; Barloworld team-mate of Thomas and Froome during 2008 Tour de France; has potential to be a great climber.
Edvald Boasson Hagen - 22, from Norway; currently sits third in the UCI rankings, having won a stage in this year's Giro d'Italia.
Kjell Carlstrom - 32, from Finland; a specialist climber, he has ridden all three Grand Tours and is a stage winner in Paris-Nice.
Steve Cummings - 28, from Birkenhead; part of pursuit teams that won gold at 2005 World Championships and 2006 Commonwealth Games and silver at the 2004 Olympics.
Russell Downing - 31, from Rotherham; winner of 2009 Tour of Ireland; one of the most successful ever GB-based professionals.
Juan Antonio Flecha - 31, from Spain; has 10 years' professional experience, including a Tour de France stage win in 2003; known as a Classics specialist.
Chris Froome - 24, born in Nairobi, Kenya; became British-registered in 2008; has completed two Tours de France.
Simon Gerrans - 29, from Australia; has won stages of all three Grand Tours this year and the 2008 Tour Down Under.
Greg Henderson - 31, from New Zealand; world scratch race champion on the track in 2004; has recorded nine victories with Columbia in 2009, including the Tour of Spain.
Peter Kennaugh - 20, from Isle of Man; British Under-23 Champion who is dominating the Under-23 calendar in Italy; partnered fellow Manxman Mark Cavendish in madison at 2009 world track championships.
Thomas Lovkvist - 25, from Sweden; a five-year pro who wore the leader's jersey during this year's Giro d'Italia as part of Columbia HTC squad and could contend for overall tour wins.
Lars Petter Nordhaug - 25, from Norway; former mountain-biker who switched to the road and became Norwegian national champion; runner-up to Russell Downing in the 2009 Tour of Ireland.
Morris Possoni - 25, from Italy; wore the best young rider jersey during the 2008 Giro d'Italia as part of the Columbia squad.
Ian Stannard - 22, from Chelmsford; came third in 2008 Tour of Britain and rode 2009 Giro d'Italia.
Geraint Thomas - 23, from Cardiff; youngest rider in 2007 Tour de France; won gold in team pursuit at Beijing Olympics
I am sure that once their contracts have expired that Cavendish and Wiggins will also be joining this Team.
In the meantime there is a certain Viking who may keep us Anglo Saxons on our Toes
'Edvald Hagen'.
He is just about to win the Tour of Britain and has some real star quality.


Lance Armstrong says Britain's Team Sky cycling team can succeed in Tour de France and that
the formation of Team Sky is "a great step forward for cycling".
"A few years ago if you had said that the British Cycling Federation (now British Cycling) is going to dominate the Olympic Games people would have said 'no way' but Dave Brailsford and his entire team there has made amazing progress.
"Not only are they (Team Sky) going to be in the Tour de France, they are going to be a factor.
"It is good for cycling fans in Britain and cycling fans all over the world."