Froome extends with Sky for three years

Chris Froome has signed a new three-year contract with the British Sky team, the squad announced on Friday afternoon.

Froome proved to be the revelation of this year's Vuelta a Espana, finishing in second place behind winner Juan Jose Cobo (Geox-TMC). It was Britain's best individual result at a Grand Tour for 24 years - and when coupled with Bradley Wiggins' third place in the race, Britain's best ever result.

After riding so strongly in the mountains, winning a stage along the way, and placing second in the individual time trial, Froome very quickly became hot property. It is thought that several teams were chasing his signature for next season, but the 26-year-old has elected to stick with Sky.

Froome commented: "Standing on the podium at this year's Vuelta a Espana was the highlight of my professional career so far. But that success was only possible because of everyone at Team Sky, both on and off the road, and so I am absolutely delighted to be signing an extension to stay with the team for the next three years."

David Brailsford, Sky team principal added: "Chris's performance at the Tour of Spain was tremendously exciting and generated much interest and competition for his services from other teams. In light of this we are very pleased that he has chosen Team Sky as the best place to continue his career.

"We are all very much looking forward to supporting Chris's future development and working with him to consolidate and build on his breakthrough performance over the coming seasons."

Froome was born in Kenya, turning professional with the Konica-Minolta squad in 2007 before transferring to Barloworld in 2008, the same year he swapped his Kenyan racing licence for a British licence. He signed with Sky for the squad's inaugural season in 2010.

Related links

Chris Froome: Rider profile