Mark Cavendish rumoured to have signed for Sky

Mark Cavendish has reportedly completed his long-rumoured deal to sign for Sky Procycling, reports Velonation.

The Manx rider is said to have signed a deal that see him compete with Sky from 2012 onwards.

Daily Mail writer Richard Moore, who has written a book on the Sky team, claims Cavendish's deal will see him earn £1.5million a year. The contract will put him on similar pay to the team’s current star Bradley Wiggins.

Cavendish has led the HTC Highroad team in recent years, chalking-up 15 Tour de France stage wins since 2008.

The Sky Procycling team has refused to comment on the reported deal, while Cavendish also played down the news. But he stopped short of denying the move would happen.

He wrote on Twitter: “As always, I can't go 1 race without some sort of **** going on. At least it's not a crash this time!

“I will say I'm committed to HTC Highroad until the end of this year, and I'm concentrating now on Tour De France. Also, please note, all quotes are 9 months old.”

Speaking this week, HTC Highroad directeur sportif Brian Holm has conceded Cavendish could move to pastures new.

“Cav ends his contract at the end of this year. Let’s see what happens then,” he said. “If he should leave, we would miss him like hell.”

Cavendish’s arrival would signal a change of approach for Sky Procycling and less focus on sprints alone, giving them more chance of picking up a Tour win.

 

I don't see why Sky would want him, does that mean they've given up on their GC ambitions and need to win some TdF stages to get the British public's attention?

 

So, now it's official. I hope that Sky manages to get its act together because they do seem very good at shooting themselves in the saddle...