Tag Archives: brailsford

Sir Dave Brailsford wants to make Team Sky into an admired sports team

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We'll be the next Barca! Boss Brailsford wants Team Sky to be 'admired' like Messi and co

By
Richard Moore

PUBLISHED:

01:04 GMT, 29 January 2013

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UPDATED:

01:04 GMT, 29 January 2013

Sir Dave Brailsford has revealed that he is part of a group of elite coaches who hold regular meetings to share information and trade secrets.

Among those involved are Stuart Lancaster, head coach to the English rugby team, Mike Forde, director of football operations at Chelsea, Geoff McGrath of the McLaren F1 team, and Damien Comolli, former director of football strategy at Liverpool.

‘We meet regularly, and it’s expanding,’ said Brailsford, the British Cycling performance director and Team Sky principal.

‘It’s about getting some leading guys together and thinking about things from a high performance perspective. Damien is the numbers guy, and Stuart’s an interesting guy who’s doing very well.’

Ambitious: Sir Dave Brailsford wants to make Team Sky into an 'admired sports team'

Ambitious: Sir Dave Brailsford wants to make Team Sky into an 'admired sports team'

The group – sport’s equivalent of a ‘brain trust’ – will hold their next meeting in April, said Brailsford, who added that he is keen to involve coaches from American sport, perhaps including Billy Beane, the Oakland A’s coach whose story was immortalised in the book and film, Moneyball. Brailsford has met Beane and declares himself an admirer.

‘It’s becoming a bit more formal, and we’ re moving towards having a name, but we’re in the nice position of having other people wanting to join,’ said Brailsford.

Brailsford also said that one of his ambitions is for Team Sky to become ‘the most admired sports team in the world.’

Stars: Barcelona are one of the top sports teams in the world

Stars: Barcelona are one of the top sports teams in the world

Citing Barcelona and McLaren as teams towards which he aspires, he explained that achieving their ultimate ambition of winning the Tour de France, which they did with Bradley Wiggins last year, led him to another question: ‘One of the issues with having a goal based only on results is you think, “what’s next” And we wanted to be as ambitious as we could be, so we asked: “what would the most admired sports team look like”

‘There are four elements,’ Brailsford continued. ‘Having the best performances, the most engaged fans, the most satisfied partners, and, most importantly, that we’re recognised as being clean.’

On this fourth point Team Sky endured a difficult off-season when, in the wake of the Lance Armstrong scandal, they re-stated their zero tolerance doping policy and insisted that all members of staff sign a document promising no previous transgressions.

Hero: Sir Bradley Wiggins has become a national treasure following his Tour de France win and Olympic time trial gold

Hero: Sir Bradley Wiggins has become a national treasure following his Tour de France win and Olympic time trial gold

This saw Bobby Julich, a coach, and Steven de Jongh, a sports director, both leave after admitting to using EPO as riders, while Geert Leinders, the Belgian doctor now implicated in a doping case involving the former Rabobank team, was dismissed in October when it became clear that he represented, as Brailsford put it, ‘a reputational risk.’

Brailsford admitted that the team’s performance could suffer this season as a result of the departures, which also included Sean Yates, who has retired, and Michael Rogers, who has joined Alberto Contador at Saxo-Tinkoff. ‘It was a clear decision: do we compromise our 9zero tolerance9 policy or change the policy and be willing to take a step back in performance’ said Brailsford.

‘We decided that, yes, we will potentiallly compromise performance and stick to our policy. If managed correctly we shouldn’t see a drop in performance, but we’ll wait and see.’

Alex McLeish says Sir Alex Ferguson is a true genius

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Alex McLeish: Ferguson is a true genius and what we know about him is just the tip of the iceberg

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UPDATED:

23:00 GMT, 19 December 2012

I sincerely hope that those Harvard academics who worked alongside Sir Alex Ferguson realise how fortunate they have been.

I can absolutely guarantee this morning that any coach worth his salt will be trying desperately to source that blueprint for success.

And, after the career Sir Alex has enjoyed, who could blame them

Pals: Sir Alex Ferguson with Alex McLeish while the latter was at Aston Villa

Pals: Sir Alex Ferguson with Alex McLeish while the latter was at Aston Villa

I think it was Team GB's cycling performance director Dave Brailsford that I heard talking about 'marginal gains' during the London Olympics.

Well, Sir Alex has been practising that throughout his managerial career. Pretty much since day one.

I'll give you an example from the day when I turned-out for Aberdeen's youth team in a match under the lights at Pittodrie against Celtic.

He wasn't in charge that night, but as manager he had come down to watch.

The game had gone badly. We were three-down at half-time. He raced from the stands to the dressing-room and launched into us.

He turned to one of the boys, a team-mate of mine called Malky Thomson – and said: 'Tomorrow son, first thing, you are going for an eye test.'

All the boys looked at each other, we thought he was taking the mickey. But Malky had been misjudging the flight of the ball in the floodlights.

Sir Alex had called it. He was spot on. Malky went for that eye test. Turned out that my pal needed contact lenses. Oh, and we won the match 5-3.

That's what I'm talking about. There
was a time at Aberdeen when he went absolutely ballistic at us for
conceding a corner – never mind a goal.

Looking back, I think he did it to prove a point about standards dropping. But nothing is lost on him. Nothing.

Ferguson

McLeish

Long way back: McLeish was Ferguson's captain when he managed Aberdeen

For example, people talk about 'Fergie time.' He will argue with me, you or anyone who will listen that it's warranted. He absolutely 100 per cent believes that he is right.

Everyone makes a joke out of it now, but it's part of the psychology of the man and it speaks volumes for his precision as a coach.

Of course, in later years, he has had to adapt his methods of dealing with players.

He is far more mellow now than when I was playing for him – although he remains adept at letting you know if he is upset.

Fancy seeing you here: McLeish, while at Rangers, with his old friend Ferguson

Fancy seeing you here: McLeish, while at Rangers, with his old friend Ferguson

But I'll always remember one of the lines from his after-dinner speeches.

He tells a story and ends with the words: 'I taught him everything he knows,' before adding, 'good job I didn't tell him everything I know.'

I don't think he is joking about the punchline, either.

So what those academics really heard and saw was but a snapshot of the man.

They will not be able to replicate the genius of Sir Alex Ferguson – no matter how hard they try.

Chris Froome says he is Team Sky"s main Tour de France rider ahead of Bradley Wiggins

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Froome convinced he will be Team Sky's main man for Tour de France bid ahead of Wiggins

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UPDATED:

01:28 GMT, 18 December 2012

Chris Froome believes that he and not newly crowned Sports Personality of the Year Bradley Wiggins will be the main man in Team Sky's bid to win next year's Tour de France.

Froome, who sacrificed his chances in the 2012 Tour to support Wiggins, claims he has the endorsement of team director Dave Brailsford.

He told The Times: 'The team are saying they are going to back me with the Tour this year. That is directly from Dave.

Main man: Chris Froome (left) says he will be Team Sky's focus for the Tour

Main man: Chris Froome (left) says he will be Team Sky's focus for the Tour

No clues: Dave Brailsford remained on the fence

No clues: Dave Brailsford remained on the fence

'He said, “You're our main man for the Tour. Focus on it”. I am already following a programme building for the Tour with that as my core focus.'

Brailsford last night suggested the decision on which rider Sky will back had not yet been made.

He said: 'At the moment Chris is going full gas for the Tour and Brad is going there by a different route and we will see when they get there.

'The guys will be trying to be the best they can be. We will see what condition they are in. The legs will do the talking.'

Froome and Wiggins have an unsettled relationship – they do not mix socially and the doubt about which of them will be lead rider in 2013 is sure to cause more friction.

Wiggins made it clear after collecting his BBC award that he wants the chance to defend his Tour title.

In his book Wiggins suggested that he could not fully trust his team-mate.

'I think that’s sad,' said Froome. 'I will always do the job asked of me.

Sad: Froome was unimpressed at Wiggins suggesting he did not trust him

Sad: Froome was unimpressed at Wiggins suggesting he did not trust him

'We definitely have to rely on each other and I think Brad knows that he can rely on me to do the job. Despite everything said, I stuck by him in the Tour.

'I looked after him to the end. He’s more than professional enough to do the same for me.'

Bradley Wiggins wants to defend next Tour de France despite Chris Froome being Team Sky"s lead man

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Wiggins wants to defend Tour de France title despite Team Sky claiming Froome would be lead man

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UPDATED:

11:29 GMT, 13 December 2012

Bradley Wiggins has revealed he wants to retain his Tour de France title next year – despite Team Sky suggesting Chris Froome will lead the British team in 2013.

The 2012 winner said Team Sky will have to ‘service both mouths’ and could even have two leaders.

Team Sky director Dave Brailsford said last month that Froome would focus on the Tour de France with Wiggins focussing on the Tour of Italy, although the plan had not been ‘completely signed off’.

Taking the lead again: Bradley Wiggins said he wants to win the Tour de France

Taking the lead again: Bradley Wiggins said he wants to win the Tour de France

Froome, 27, rode in support of
Wiggins as the 32-year-old became Britain’s first winner of Tour de
France, but it had been expected the roles would be reversed next year.

Wiggins told BBC Radio 5 Live: ‘I
don’t know what the situation is in terms of leadership. As it stands
I’m probably going to try and win a second Tour de France.

‘Maybe we’ll have two leaders, which
is more unlikely I guess. How that will work with the team I don’t know.
That’s more Dave Brailsford’s problem to worry about that, really.

Second fiddle Chris Froome had been touted as the lead man for Team Sky

Second fiddle Chris Froome had been touted as the lead man for Team Sky

Olympic stars: Wiggins (centre) and Froome both enjoyed a fantastic London Games

Olympic stars: Wiggins (centre) and Froome both enjoyed a fantastic London Games

‘It’s just how we service both
mouths. That’s more the problem for Dave to figure out. My goal is to
win the Tour next year, whether that’s realised or not I don’t know.’

Wiggins, however, said he would
accept the team’s decision if the team decide Froome has a better chance
at glory. The 100th edition of the Tour de France, which will take place
from June 29 to July 21 next year, is likely to favour climbers such as
Froome, who impressed in the mountainous stages this year.

Wiggins, speaking from a training
camp in Mallorca today, continued: ‘Whatever the team strategy is, we’ll
support that, because you don’t take the start line (if that’s not the
case).

‘There’ll be someone else that’s
willing to fulfil that job, so you do what is asked of you on the day
really, whatever that decision is.’

Duo: Wiggins with his team-mate Froome

Duo: Wiggins with his team-mate Froome

Reflecting on a remarkable year,
Wiggins said it would be difficult to top riding into Hampton Court last
summer to win his seventh Olympic medal with gold in the men’s time
trial.

The cyclist, the favourite to win the
BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year award on Sunday night, said: ‘That
was the highlight of my career and I don’t think it will get any better
than that. I can probably achieve other things but most of us, as
British Olympians, will never experience anything like that again. It
was a phenomenal day.

‘We reset the goals, try and do other
things, maybe try and win a second Tour de France, but you’re never
going to replicate those circumstances in your home Olympics.

‘It will probably never be topped,
but I accept that and I’m happy with that really, because you can’t have
too many occasions like that in your career.’

Brendan Rodgers hires cycling psychologist to give Liverpool edge

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Rodgers brings in revered cycling psychologist to give Liverpool an edge

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UPDATED:

23:54 GMT, 23 November 2012


Import: Steve Peters is credited with helping British Cycling have such a successful Olympics

Import: Steve Peters is credited with helping British Cycling have such a successful Olympics

Brendan Rodgers has moved to improve Liverpool’s mental strength by appointing Dr Steve Peters, the man credited with British Cycling’s revolution.

Peters has just started to visit Melwood once a week for sessions with Rodgers and his squad.

Though it is not unusual for clubs to work with sports psychologists, the recruitment of Peters is significant.

British cycling supremo Dave
Brailsford has regularly described him as ‘the best appointment I have
ever made’ and Rodgers believes his input will give Liverpool an edge.

Idea: Brendan Rodgers brought in the psychologist

Idea: Brendan Rodgers brought in the psychologist

‘We have brought in a guy who is the
top guy in his field, one of the leading guys in the world in what he
does, and it is a real coup for us to get someone like that in,’ said
Rodgers, who returns to Swansea this weekend for the first time since his
departure last May.

‘I see it as a part of the development of the player. The modern game in particular is very much about the psychological aspect of it. I will do lots of technical, tactical and physical training but sometimes what gets bypassed is the mental tuning for players at the top level.’

Team Sky braced for departures

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Team Sky and Brailsford braced for departures as employee denies doping past

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UPDATED:

21:48 GMT, 20 October 2012

Team Sky, who took Bradley Wiggins to victory in the Tour de France, are bracing themselves for the departures of several of their 80-strong staff as part of a review whereby anyone who admits to doping in their career will leave.

Amid a process described by insiders as 'cathartic but potentially painful', at least one employee has made strenuous denials about allegations made to The Mail on Sunday by some of his former colleagues.

He cannot be named for legal reasons but says those making claims of a secret doping past are doing so because they are 'twisted', 'bitter', 'disillusioned' and 'jealous'.

Tough approach: Dave Brailsford is ready to sack anyone at Team Sky who has a history of doping

Tough approach: Dave Brailsford is ready to sack anyone at Team Sky who has a history of doping

The claims are specific and revolve around the injection of drugs at races when the employee rode for other teams. They come from three separate independent sources.

'That's highly, highly unlikely. I'd refute any allegation of that,' the employee told The Mail on Sunday of one allegation.

'I'd say [the accuser] is a very bitter and twisted guy. I must have been tested 103 times or something in my career and never ever come up positive.

'So for him to say that is borderline ludicrous but I don't want to get dragged into “He said this, he did that, he did this, I did that or whatever”.'

The accused says he has handed in a signed pledge to Team Sky boss Dave Brailsford stating that he has never used performance-enhancing drugs. 'That's what you've got to do,' he said.

Former colleagues from different stages in the employee's riding career approached the Mail on Sunday after a story about Team Sky facing questions over some staff.

A former colleague alleges he saw the employee injecting testosterone and another team-mate from a separate part of his career says their team were known to comprise drug-users.

'I would never ever touch testosterone or any form of performance-enhancing substance,' claimed the employee. British cycling has had huge success in recent years.

Britain won 14 cycling medals at the Beijing Olympics including golds for Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton, Wiggins, Jason Kenny, Rebecca Romero and others.

Class act: Bradley Wiggins represented Team Sky when he won the Tour de France this summer

Class act: Bradley Wiggins represented Team Sky when he won the Tour de France this summer

Many of the triumphant riders also struck gold in the London Games after Wiggins became the first Briton to win the Tour de France. In the wake of revelations about Lance Armstrong, Brailsford, the overseer of all British cycling, has suggested that any rider or staff member at Team Sky with a doping past will be sacked.

A statement from Team Sky says: 'There is no place in Team Sky for those with an involvement in doping, whether past or present. 'This applies to management, support staff and riders.

Team Principal Dave Brailsford re-stated our stance on doping and called on riders, staff and management to reaffirm their own commitment to our position.

'Over the coming weeks, we will talk individually with each team member and ask everyone, at every level, to sign up to a clear written policy, confirming that they have no past or present involvement in doping.

'Should anyone choose not to sign up to our policy they will have to leave, as will anyone who does sign but is subsequently found to be in breach.'

This policy in favour of clean sport has set the highest possible standard, although there is a private debate within cycling as to whether it is an over-zealous approach.

One side of that debate argues the occasional use of testosterone or amphetamines, for example, years before joining Sky, could be confessed without anyone losing their job.

The other side of the debate, says a source, is: 'There must be no grey area. It's totally clean or nothing.'

Team Sky were shocked when former rider Michael Barry appeared in the US Anti-Doping Agency dossier of evidence against Armstrong, having admitted historic doping they knew nothing about.

A doctor who recently left Team Sky, Geert Leinders, has been implicated in doping in the Rabobank team.

It is claimed that other Team Sky personnel have doping pasts, although there is no suggestion any have doped at Team Sky.

The employee against whom former colleagues are making claims says personal fall-outs could be behind them and those making such allegations are 'jumping on the bandwagon'.

Lance Armstrong revelations cast cloud on Bradley Wiggins, Chris Hoy and everyone else – Dave Brailsford

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Armstrong revelations cast cloud on Wiggins, Hoy and everyone else, admits British Cycling chief Brailsford

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UPDATED:

23:47 GMT, 11 October 2012

British Cycling head Dave Brailsford has admitted that Lance Armstrong’s emergence as a confirmed drugs cheat could lead the public to doubt the achievements of riders such as Bradley Wiggins and Sir Chris Hoy.

Brailsford is the man who masterminded Wiggins’s Tour de France triumph this year and led Team GB to eight gold medals in the London Olympics and the Beijing Games of 2008.

And although there is no suggestion that his riders are not clean, Brailsford admitted on Thursday night that the public now has the right to question every achievement they have witnessed in the sport in recent years.

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Dark: Bradley Wiggins achievements have had a shadow cast over them by the Lance Armstrong revelations

Dark: Bradley Wiggins achievements have had a shadow cast over them by the Lance Armstrong revelations

Competition: Wiggins (left) racing next to Lance Armstrong

Competition: Wiggins (left) racing next to Lance Armstrong

‘We set this team up as clean and our job is to make them go faster,’ said Brailsford. ‘But some of the tentacles of the past are impacting. In cycling we’ve got a past, a present and a future. Generation EPO is now the past. We can’t deny it.

‘So when people see the huge advances we are making, because of what happened, it is understandable that people are sceptical. It is understandable now for people to look at any results in cycling and question them.

Doubts: Sir Chris Hoy is another great rider who may be unfairly tarnished by the revelations, says Dave Brailsford (below) with Roberto Mancini

Doubts: Sir Chris Hoy is another great rider who may be unfairly tarnished by the revelations, says Dave Brailsford (below) with Roberto Mancini

Brailsford shows Mancini around

‘It completely and utterly lost its way and I think it lost its moral compass. What we want to work towards is a future where there is no doubt, so that when someone moves performance forward nobody questions it.

‘I’ve been thinking about Armstrong a lot. The more you read, the more the jaw drops. But let’s accept it happened. Now we have the present. It’s up to us to change people’s views.’

The world of cycling — and sport in general — is still coming to terms with the fact that one of the greatest stories of triumph over adversity has been built on artificial substances and lies.

Disgraced: Armstrong's career achievements have been tarnished

Disgraced: Armstrong's career achievements have been tarnished

USADA's reasoned decision

Click here to read the reasoned decision from the USADA

Armstrong’s recovery from cancer to
win the Tour de France seven times now counts for very little after a
report from the United States Anti-Doping Agency revealed hard evidence
that all of the 41-year-old’s triumphs came with the help of performance
enhancing drugs.

Brailsford added: ‘I think there are plenty of people out there who saw this guy and what he did as an amazing achievement.

‘He is one of the first cyclists that maybe transcended the sport and became a hero beyond cycling.

‘It was an amazing thing and people got behind that. So to now find out what was behind it is, of course, disappointing.’

The achievements of British cyclists such as Wiggins and Hoy have inspired a new wave of athletes to take up the sport.

Hoy appealed to them to stick with cycling and implored them to use Wiggins — not Armstrong — as their role model.

Lying again: Armstrong has a medical test before the 2002 Tour

Lying again: Armstrong has a medical test before the 2002 Tour

Shock, anger and revulsion

It sends a message that no matter what you have achieved and how you have done it — karma will come and get you
Mark Webber, F1 driver

We did our best to test and bring samples to labs according to rules, but I’m speechless about the systematic use
Martin Bruin, ex doping inspector

Sad to read about how Lance Armstrong cheated for so many years. So many people idolised him. It’s sad for sport
Dai Greene, 400m hurdles world champion

It’s what [these revelations] could do in terms of tarnishing the sport. It could put us all out of not just our jobs but doing what we love
Alex Dowsett, Team Sky rider

Important they are clamping down on that sort of thing. This is a negative thing for Lance but his books are great and you can still take a lot from them
Jenson Button, F1 driver

Revelations beyond depressing for those who love sport
Jonathan Edwards, Olympic triple jump gold medallist

Hoy said: ‘On the Tour de France every
day for three weeks you’re struggling with physical and mental
challenges. It’s an extremely arduous event, probably the most arduous
event in the world of sport.

‘Bradley Wiggins was frustrated during
the Tour de France and he had a couple of outbursts about it. But his
frustration is with the previous generation who have let down the
public.

‘Bradley winning the Tour clean, that
has to be the inspiration for the next generation to see that this is
terrible. We’re not proud but it happened in the past and we’re moving
on. I think it’s the scale of it that’s really shocked people as well
as who it is. The number of people involved, it’s on a huge scale.

‘In that era, there were a lot of
people testing positive. The guys who were coming second and third
behind Lance were testing positive so there was an element of suspicion
surrounding him, but I always try and give people the benefit of the
doubt.’

One of the team-mates who testified
against Armstrong was Michael Barry, who admitted to doping while a
member of Armstrong’s US Postal Service team and who rode under
Brailsford for Team Sky from 2010 until his retirement this year.

Brailsford said: ‘During his time at
Team Sky, we have had absolutely no cause for concern. There has never
been any question in terms of his performances, his training, his
behaviour on the team. There have never been any issues. But ultimately
he lied.

‘We set out with a zero-tolerance
policy, so we said that anyone who has had a doping conviction or proved
to have been involved in doping hasn’t got a place on Team Sky. That is
our policy. When you take someone you ask them a question and if
someone lies to you and you find out later it’s disappointing.’

LANCE ARMSTRONG FACTFILE

1971: Born September 18, in Dallas.

1991: Signs with Subaru-Montgomery and becomes US national amateur champion.

1993: Crowned US national champion. Wins first stage in Tour de France but fails to finish. Beats Miguel Indurain to win world championship.

1994: Wins Liege-Bastogne-Liege spring classic.

1996: October 2 – Diagnosed with testicular cancer. The disease later spreads through his whole body. Founds Lance Armstrong Foundation for Cancer.

1997: Declared cancer-free after brain surgery and chemotherapy. Signs with US Postal Service team after being dropped by Cofidis.

1998: Wins Tours of Holland and Luxembourg.

1999: Claims first Tour de France title, winning four stages.

2000: Wins second Tour. Secures time-trial bronze in Sydney Olympics.

2001: Victorious in Tour of Switzerland.

July 29: Becomes only the fifth rider to win three Tour de France titles in a row.

2002: Wins Dauphine Libere and Midi Libre.

July 28: Becomes only the fourth person to win four successive Tour de France titles.

Lance Armstrong and Floyd Landis

2003: Equals the record of five victories in the Tour de France, but is pushed to his limit by German Jan Ullrich, who finishes just 61 seconds off the pace.

2004: July 25 – Clinches record sixth Tour de France victory.

2005: July 24 – Wins his seventh Tour de France, two more than anyone else, before retiring.

September 6 – Claims he is considering coming out of retirement after being angered by drug allegations against him.

2008: September 9 – Announces he will return to professional cycling and will attempt to win his eighth Tour de France in 2009.

2009: March 23 – Suffers a broken right collarbone when he crashes out on stage one of the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon in Spain.

May – Appears in first Giro d'Italia, finishing 12th. Tour is somewhat marred by financial cloud over Armstrong's Astana team and the American is linked to a takeover.

June – Astana's financial issues are resolved and Armstrong is named in the Tour de France team, but with 2007 champion Alberto Contador of Spain as leader.

July – Contador and Armstrong endure a fractious relationship. Contador claims a second Tour title, while Armstrong finishes third. Armstrong announces he will launch his own squad in 2010, Team Radio Shack.

2010: January – Team Radio Shack make their debut at the Tour Down Under in Australia. Armstrong finishes 25th overall.

Lance Armstrong riding on the Champs Elysees

May – Armstrong's former US Postal team-mate Floyd Landis, who was stripped of the 2006 Tour de France title for doping, launches allegations at the Texan.

June 28 – Announces that the 2010 Tour de France will be his last.

July – Finishes final Tour in 23rd place, 39 minutes and 20 seconds behind winner Contador.

2011: February 16 – Announces retirement for second time.

May – Forced to deny claims made by former team-mate Tyler Hamilton that they took performance-enhancing drugs together.

2012: February 4 – An investigation into alleged doping by Armstrong is dropped by federal prosecutors in California.

June 13 – The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) confirm they have initiated legal proceedings over allegations of doping against Armstrong.

June 30 – The USADA confirm they will file formal doping charges against Armstrong.

July 9 – Armstrong files a lawsuit in a US federal court asking for a temporary restraining order against the agency. Armstrong also claims the USADA offered “corrupt inducements” to other cyclists to testify against him.

July 11 – Armstrong refiles lawsuit against the USADA after initial lawsuit was dismissed by a judge as being a “lengthy and bitter polemic”, designed to attract media attention and public sympathy.

August 20 – Armstrong's legal action against the USADA dismissed in court.

August 24 – Armstrong announces he will not fight the doping charges filed against him by the USADA, saying in a statement he is “finished with this nonsense” and insisting he is innocent. He is stripped of all his titles banned for life from cycling by USADA.

October 10 – USADA claim 11 of Armstrong's former team-mates have testified against him. The organisation say the US Postal Service team “ran the most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping programme that sport has ever seen”, with “conclusive and undeniable proof” of a team-run doping conspiracy.

VIDEO: USADA explains drug test procedures

DM.has('rcpv1892023477001','BCVideo');

Mark Cavendish: I want to leave Team Sky

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Cavendish: I want a divorce from Sky, but it's got to be amicable

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UPDATED:

19:09 GMT, 8 September 2012

Mark Cavendish has confirmed his desire to leave Team Sky less than a year after signing for the British squad.

The 27-year-old 23-time Tour de France stage winner and 2011 world champion is seeking an amicable end to his contract, which was agreed last October and has two further years to run, as his personal ambitions and Team Sky's do not match.

He aims to meet Team Sky principal Dave Brailsford for discussions over his future during the Tour of Britain, amid rumours of a link up with Belgian team Omega Pharma-QuickStep.

Sprint king: Mark Cavendish celebrates as he wins the sixth stage of the Tur of Denmark last month

Sprint king: Mark Cavendish celebrates as he wins the sixth stage of the Tur of Denmark last month

It is understood the talks will centre around any severance agreement and whether Team Sky will demand compensation for one of the most coveted figures in the sport.

Cavendish has had a successful season, winning 12 times, including three stages at the Tour won by Bradley Wiggins, but it was that victory which demonstrated to the Manxman that his relationship with the British squad could not work.

Speaking in Ipswich ahead of the Tour of Britain, Cavendish said: 'We had this idea that we could have this British super team that could win stages and dominate.

'Dave sold me the idea last year but for some reason it hasn't worked out like that. It's difficult to do.

'It's like a long distance relationship with a girl. Everything is great but you live apart and it can't work out.

'But you want to be friends and you would rather the best thing happens so that everything can remain good and that you can stay close.

'I've been very happy at Sky. I don't want to compromise Sky and hopefully Sky won't compromise me.'

Bradley Wiggins handed back-up role for Great Britain at World Championships

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Wiggins handed back-up role as GB target further cycling glory at World Championships

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UPDATED:

15:50 GMT, 3 September 2012

Bradley Wiggins is set to play a team role for Great Britain at the Road World Championships later this month, for which double Olympic track champion Laura Trott is a surprise inclusion in the women's squad.

The World Championships are to take place in Limburg, Holland from September 15 to 23, with Wiggins and 23-time Tour stage winner Mark Cavendish, the defending road race champion, among the 14-man squad for the road race, with nine to start.

Laura Trott is named alongside sister Emma and Olympic road race silver medallist Lizzie Armitstead in the 12-woman squad, with seven to start.

Back seat: Wiggo's taking a break after Olympic and Tour de France glory

Back seat: Wiggo's taking a break after Olympic and Tour de France glory

Cavendish has been wearing the world champion's rainbow jersey since winning in Copenhagen last September, but it is anticipated he will relinquish his crown on an undulating course.

Wiggins, meanwhile, withdrew from contention for the individual time-trial event, in which he won Olympic gold and world silver in 2011.

British Cycling performance director Dave Brailsford said: 'Once again we find ourselves in a very fortunate position of having a strong pool of riders across the board from which we can select the final team nearer the time.

'Brad has opted out of riding the time-trial at the worlds; this year's focus for him has been fully on the Tour de France and the Olympics, so to expect him to hold form going into the worlds is a big ask.'

Wiggins, who is set to be part of Team
Sky's Tour of Britain line-up next week, is joined in the squad by Tour
runner-up Chris Froome and Olympic team pursuit champions Geraint Thomas
and Peter Kennaugh, but there was no place for David Millar.

Surprise inclusion: Trott has been named in the squad

Surprise inclusion: Trott has been named in the squad

Thomas, Froome and Alex Dowsett, who last weekend won the British time-trial Championships, are in contention for the two places for the race against the clock.

Wendy Houvenaghel won the women's national title and is one of four riders named in the list for the two time-trial spots, despite leaving the Olympics in disgust after missing out on a place – and a medal – in the team pursuit.

Laura Trott won team pursuit and omnium gold in the velodrome and is more accustomed to riding on the track, but she is joined in the road race squad by Joanna Rowsell and Dani King, her fellow Olympic champions in the three-kilometre event.

Great Britain squad for the 2012 UCI Road World Championships

- Elite men – road race (nine to start)

Adam Blythe, Mark Cavendish, Steve Cummings, Alex Dowsett, Andy Fenn,
Chris Froome, Peter Kennaugh, Jeremy Hunt, Luke Rowe, Ian Stannard, Ben
Swift, Jon Tiernan-Locke, Geraint Thomas, Bradley Wiggins.

- Elite men – time-trial (two to start)

Dowsett, Froome, Thomas

- Elite women – road race (seven to start)

Lizzie Armitstead, Hannah Barnes, Katie Colclough, Nicole Cooke,
Catherine Hare, Nikki Harris, Dani King, Sharon Laws, Emma Pooley,
Joanna Rowsell, Emma Trott, Laura Trott

- Elite women – time-trial (two to start)

Wendy Houvenaghel, Sharon Laws, Emma Pooley, Julia Shaw

Mark Cavendish set to leave Sky

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Cavendish plans his breakaway from Sky after growing tired of playing support role

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UPDATED:

21:30 GMT, 18 August 2012

Mark Cavendish, a key part of Team Sky’s Tour de France triumph with Bradley Wiggins, is to quit the British outfit after just one year.

Cavendish, the current world road race champion and the 2011 Tour de France green jersey winner, will hold talks with Sky’s general manager, Dave Brailsford, next week to extricate himself from the remaining two-and-a-half years of his 1.5million-a-year contract.

Sky will not oppose the breakaway by 27-year-old Cavendish, who is seeking an agreement that he can begin negotiations with other teams. As many as six outfits have expressed an interest in taking him on.

Conflict of interest: Team Sky's Mark Cavendish (left) and Bradley Wiggins

Conflict of interest: Team Sky's Mark Cavendish (left) and Bradley Wiggins

Sky’s dream was to have Wiggins, the first Briton to win the Tour de France, and Cavendish sharing the spotlight but, despite the Manxman winning another three Tour stages last month to become the fourth-highest stage winner on 23, both he and Sky realise that sharing team efforts in an attempt to win yellow and green jerseys has proved impossible.

While Wiggins enjoyed a total team effort on his way to making British sporting history, Cavendish, often little more than a water collector for his team-mates, had to make do with scraps of help, although his final stage win on the Champs Elysees was due in good part to the efforts of his colleagues.

However, the experience has left the 2011 BBC Sports Personality of the Year frustrated and disillusioned and he yearns to return to a team who throw all their energies behind him, as was the case with HTC-Highroad during his green jersey-winning Tour last year.

Pain: Cavendish at the Olympics

Pain: Cavendish at the Olympics

His desire to leave has been fuelled by the realisation that their first aim next year will be another Tour de France win, either through Wiggins or runner-up Chris Froome, who is team leader at the Vuelta a Espana, which started yesterday, and who is seen as a strong contender to win the centenary staging of the Tour.

If Cavendish stayed at Sky, he would have to win sprint stages virtually on his own and then sit back and watch Wiggins and Froome go for yellow.
Officially, all parties concerned say Cavendish is still a Team Sky rider and this remains the case until he and Brailsford meet next week, but heading the queue for his signature are BMC, who helped Cadel Evans win the Tour de France last year.

The Australian was team leader again last month but faded to seventh place in his defence of the yellow jersey and appears to be on his way out. BMC would be changing tack from yellow to green jersey but are keen to team Cavendish with the Belgian, Philippe Gilbert.

Although Liquigas, Rabobank and Lampre have also made inquiries, BMC’s main competition for Cavendish will come from Katusha, the Russian team with oligarch millions behind them, and Omega Pharma Quickstep.

Negotiations are likely to be resolved quickly, with Cavendish, currently preparing for next week’s Tour of Denmark, followed by the Tour of Britain, looking to defend his world title in the Netherlands in five weeks’ time.

Sealed with a kiss: Cavendish teamed up with Jake Humphrey on the BBC

Sealed with a kiss: Cavendish teamed up with Jake Humphrey on the BBC

Brailsford, meanwhile, has spoken of his desire to turn Team Sky into one of the biggest sporting names in the world.

‘I want to build one of the best sports teams in the world, if not the best,’ said the Welshman, ‘and I’m talking all sports. What are the criteria in becoming a Barcelona or a Real Madrid, a New Zealand All Blacks, a Ferrari, an LA Lakers and so on How do the very best go about their business What do they all have in common

‘First and foremost, it means results. Yes, we’ve won the Tour and did it ahead of schedule, but we need to win it again and again. We believe we have the tools and the riders. But it’s also to do with our attitudinal approach to everything connected to us.

‘We want to become the model sports team, a point of reference for not just cycling but world sport to follow in terms of innovation, technology, team building and pushing the boundaries.’