GB dream team: Mark Cavendish in shock move to join Bradley Wiggins at Team Sky



Mark Cavendish, the cyclist in pole position to win Britain’s first gold medal of the London 2012 Olympics, will sign for Team Sky next season in a deal worth £1.5million a year.



Sportsmail understands the winner of 15 stages of the Tour de France has agreed to leave his current team, HTC-Highroad, to join Bradley Wiggins in the Dave Brailsford-managed British squad for 2012.



Cavendish is set to double his current salary, putting him on a par with Wiggins, who on Sunday claimed his biggest road victory in the week-long Critérium du Dauphiné.



Team Sky refused to comment on the capture of Cavendish, insisting they would be saying nothing about new signings, or potential signings, until August 1, when permitted to do so under the rules of the International Cycling Union’s World Tour.



Best of British: Mark Cavendish is set to join Bradley Wiggins at Team Sky next season

Key to the move is Cavendish’s desire to train and compete with the British cyclists in Team Sky, who will aim to propel him to victory when he competes as favourite for the Olympic road race on day one of next year’s Games.



The Isle of Man rider’s future has been in doubt since the end of last season when, in Delhi for the Commonwealth Games, he criticised HTC-Highroad.



‘I’m committed to a contract I signed a few years ago (but) there’s been no goodwill, no bonuses, nothing,’ said Cavendish, adding that he felt ‘kind of abused for what I’ve achieved’.



In a recent interview with Sportsmail, Cavendish said he would not make a decision until after the Tour de France, which starts on July 2, although he did admit: ‘My contract’s up and I haven’t been offered a new one.’



It is understood, however, that the 26-year-old, already one of the most prolific winners in the sport’s history, has agreed terms with Team Sky, launched last year with a fanfare of publicity and an estimated annual budget of £10m.



Team leader: Wiggins won the Criterium du Dauphine earlier this week

With Cavendish in Team Sky, the focus will be on the challenge of accommodating Britain’s top two riders, with Wiggins in the same line-up.



Wiggins left Cavendish’s team at the end of 2008 because he feared it was becoming ‘the Cav show’ and he didn’t want to become a full-time member of the sprinter’s lead-out ‘train’.

His decision was vindicated when he finished fourth in the 2009 Tour de France, equalling the highest British finish.

Team Sky was built around Wiggins’ challenge for the podium in last year’s Tour, but he finished 24th.



Cavendish, meanwhile, has come to rely on hav ing an entire team dedicated to forming his famous ‘train’ and setting him up for the sprint finishes. He will expect the same at Team Sky.



There is also the fact that the pair have had an up-and-down relationship. They won the world madison title as a duo in 2008, but their bid for Olympic gold ended in bitter disappointment when a tired Wiggins, who had already won two golds in Beijing, was below par.



A furious Cavendish complained he felt ‘massively let down’ by Wiggins and British cycling.



They have since made up, however, and on Sunday evening after Wiggins’ impressive win, Cavendish tweeted: ‘Incredible ride by @bradwiggins & @teamsky this week. Nice way to show critics dude.’

Regardless of any hurdles ahead, the signing of Cavendish will complete the circle for Brailsford, Team Sky principal and British performance director.



In 2007, during Cavendish’s Tour debut, Brailsford first outlined his plans to establish a British Tour de France team.



Back then he identified Cavendish, a product of the British Cycling Academy, as the natural leader of such a team.