Team Sky targets Tour win

Brailsford: Charged with winning Tour de France

This will be an epic story; building a British team to take on the best in professional cycling, and win.

Jeremy Darroch, Sky CEO
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BSkyB is to create a professional British road cycling team with the aim of winning the Tour de France within five years.

Team Sky, to be managed by Great Britain's Olympic performance director Dave Brailsford, will have the express goal of providing the first British winner of cycling's most gruelling test by 2014.

As well as targeting success in the Tour de France, Team Sky will also aim to inspire people of all ages and abilities to get on their bikes while adding further support to competitive cycling in this country.

Brailsford, who last year led Great Britain's Olympic team in Beijing to 14 medals, including eight golds, has been charged with masterminding Team Sky's assault on Le Tour.

And the new Team Principal sees this as the culmination of a long-held ambition.

"This has been a dream for some time and now Sky is making it happen. It wouldn't work without them," said Brailsford.

Team Sky will have a core of British riders, coaches and support staff based in Manchester, home to the GB cycling team.

It will compete from the start of next year with the objective of gaining an invitation to the Tour de France in 2010.

The team's race schedule will include the Tour of Britain, a chance to showcase the line-up on home ground.

An initial squad of around 25 riders will be recruited during 2009, backed up by a team of coaches, technicians and support staff.

Brailsford will continue in his role as Performance Director of British Cycling while also looking after the formation of the new team.

Ambitious

He added; "Team Sky will only enhance British prospects, with riders, and especially up-and-coming talent, benefiting from a pro team set-up that gives them the best training and support in an environment that will help them to develop.

"The team is a natural evolution for the Olympic programme as the quantity and calibre of British riders continues to grow."

Announcing Team Sky, Jeremy Darroch, the company's CEO, said; "Sky has a core belief in the power of sport - we want to get people involved.

"We are hugely impressed by Dave Brailsford, inspired by the success of British riders and excited about embarking upon this ambitious project together.

"Sky is already the principal partner for British Cycling, supports the Youth Sport Trust through Sky Sports Living for Sport and invests heavily in British sport.

"Team Sky builds on this and will inspire people of all ages and abilities to get out and ride, for fun, for fitness, and for the environment.

"We want to make heroes, persuade a generation to pull on Team Sky colours and inspire people to ride.

"This will be an epic story; building a British team to take on the best in professional cycling, and win."

Since becoming Principal Partner of British Cycling last summer, Sky has used its relationship with millions of homes to encourage families to get out and ride in order to help their health, their fitness and the environment.

The Sky Sports London Freewheel in September brought more than 50,000 recreational riders together to ride traffic-free streets in the heart of London.

Sky is also working with British Cycling to develop a range of inspiring events, to make cycling fun, easy and accessible to all, which will be announced in the spring.