Sky to bring involvement in cycling to a close after 2019 season
Wednesday 12 December 2018 14:56, UK
Sir Dave Brailsford has spoken of his gratitude for Sky’s involvement in cycling but is ready to embrace the team’s next chapter.
Sky confirmed on Wednesday that it will end its highly successful ownership and sponsorship of Team Sky, led by Brailsford as general manager since 2010.
The team will compete as Team Sky for the last time throughout the 2019 road racing season, aiming to add to its total of 322 all-time wins including eight Grand Tours, 52 other stage races and 25 one-day races.
Team Sky will continue to race under a different name if a new backer is secured to provide funding from the beginning of 2020.
Speaking about the change, Brailsford told Sky Sports News: "In all these situations you have got to be calm. You know in life that the goalposts are going to move. When they do move it is about how you react.
"Every change brings an opportunity. We like to build things and we are creators so I see this as an opportunity.
"We have had a fantastic 10 years and we couldn't be more grateful to Sky and Jeremy Darroch [Sky's Group chief executive] for what they have given us the opportunity to do. It has been an amazing run.
"Everybody wants to go and build a new future and I take that responsibility very seriously.
"For us to move forward the partner would have to be the right one who could continue to share the way that we work.
"Hopefully that will happen, but if it doesn't we will move on."
