The demise of HTC-Highroad frees Mark Cavendish to announce his impending move to Team Sky. Some sources say the deal was done months ago but the British sprinter has so far remained tight lipped about his plans.
Earlier in the week Cavendish told the BBC that he had made his decision and was happy with it. He is expected to announce the move any day. "A number of teams have expressed interest in me riding for them in 2012. I have now made a decision I am happy with and will be in a position to discuss my intentions once everything has been finalised." He said today in a statement on his website.
He also paid tribute to the team he has ridden for since turning professional in 2007. "I am obviously very disappointed that HTC-Highroad will no longer be a team at the end of this season. I am hugely indebted and incredibly grateful to my teammates and all the staff for their support over the last 5 years and I am immensely proud of what we have achieved together."
In those five years Cavendish has won 71 races, with this year's Tour green jersey being the icing on the cake.
Cavendish is by far the most successful of those graduates, but until now is one of the few not riding for Team Sky. In 2008 when Team Sky was first announced he re-signed with Bob Stapleton's Highroad management company (that runs the team), frustrating the Team Sky management - who are also the British Cycling staff - as they hadn't been consulted.
Cavendish hadn't done himself any favours either. His frustration with Highroad was first expressed at the Commonwealth Games in October 2010 when he said he was poorly paid and under-appreciated. He singled out Bob Stapleton for criticism and it seemed the end was nigh.
However, as the season went on there was no news coming out of San Luis Obispo, Stapleton's home town where the team is registered, in regards to a replacement sponsor. The American said they were still in talks with the Taiwanese phone producer but that their rapid growth over the previous year had caused major internal restructuring that had left the company unable to come up with a unified decision as to where to take their future marketing budgets.
It's not just about Cavendish though. HTC is packed with race winners and super-domestiques. Many of whom have been negotiating with teams for months (the UCI's August 1st rule is blatantly flouted as agents start talking with prospective teams as early as April) with the knowledge that the HTC deal was on a knife edge.
If Renshaw doesn't go with Cavendish to Sky it will break up a hugely successful duet, but could also set up some intriguing sprint battles next year should Renshaw get the chance to ride for himself.
Women's team
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