Brailsford: Wanted man

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Team GB cycling performance director Dave Brailsford has signalled his intent on bettering his Beijing success at the London 2012 Olympics.

Brailsford masterminded Britain's staggering success in Beijing as his team bagged no less than eight gold medals in East Asia.

The phenomenal achievements of Brailsford during his tenure will undoubtedly have attracted interest from other quarters; however the Team GB boss insists he will lead his side to the 2012 Games in London.

Speaking on Sky Sports News, Brailsford said: "It's been flattering actually - I've had quite a few conversations but my heart is set with the Great Britain cycling team.

"(London) 2012 is the biggest stage that I could imagine. To lead your home nation into the London Olympics in 2012 for somebody like myself it could be the pinnacle or proudest moment of my career.

"I don't intend to let that go to be honest."

Amazing

Great Britain's fantastic 19-medal haul at the Beijing Games propelled them up to a fourth placed finish in the medals table - their highest finish since 1908.

Britain's cyclists accounted for nearly half of the medal total and Brailsford admitted the success of his team, which was spearheaded by Chris Hoy, who notched three medals of his own, came as no surprise to him.

He said: "We knew that we could perform well but I think when reality hits, and you actually get the medals in the bag then it was an amazing experience and probably on expectation.

"There were so many brilliant rides in the whole Olympics that to pick one particular one is always going to be difficult.

"But I would probable say Chris (Hoy) getting his third gold - that was a pretty historic moment and the team pursuit breaking the world record in a final - that was unbelievable.

"The thing about Chris Hoy is that he does genuinely epitomise everything that an Olympic champion should be. The values of an Olympic champion, fair play, he races really, really hard, but he's humble off the bike and a true champion.

Brailsford also singled out praise for the performance by Victoria Pendleton after she powered her way to gold in the women's sprint event.

Sky deal

"I think the difficult thing for Vic was that there was only one event for her in the Olympic Games.

"Had her normal three events been available to her she may well have come away with three gold medals.

"She's a great talent and great to have on the team."

There are certainly exciting times ahead for the sport of cycling, especially after an agreement was made prior to the 2008 Olympic Games for Sky to sponsor Team GB for the next five years.

The multi-million pound partnership will support the team up to the 2012 Olympics and beyond, and Brailsford believes the deal is just what cycling needs to continue its already remarkable progression.

"It's a really, really exciting partnership because obviously what we're trying to do now is trying to develop the sport of cycling on the back of these results," he said.

"We now want to grow the entire sport from a mass participation point of view to get more kids involved with the sport."