Wiggins joins Team Sky

Triple Olympic gold medallist Bradley Wiggins has joined Britain’s Team Sky on a four-year contract, team principal Dave Brailsford said on Thursday.

“Brad will be at home in Team Sky. It is the perfect fit and he will be a marquee rider for us,” Brailsford said in a statement.

The 29-year-old Briton, who finished fourth in the Tour de France this year, joins from U.S. team Garmin-Transitions becoming the 25th member of the newly formed team.

“I’ll be on a British team with management and coaches who have shaped me as a rider. They are instrumental in my achievements so far and I know they are critical for the next part of my career,” Wiggins said.

“This team wants to be the biggest and the best and the most admired team in the world. It’s the first British ProTour team and to be part of that from the start is going to be something quite special.”

Wiggins, who won Olympic gold in Athens 2004 on the track before taking double gold at last year’s Beijing Olympics, had been linked to Team Sky since their formation in February.

The team, whose aim is to produce a British winner of the Tour de France within five years, are led by British cycling’s performance director Brailsford, the man behind their unprecedented cycling success in Beijing.

“Brad was a real revelation at this year’s Tour de France, has been hugely successful for British Cycling and his Olympic success has brought wide recognition,” Brailsford said.

“My personal opinion is that the best that Brad Wiggins could be is very close to the top of the Tour de France podium.”

Wiggins becomes one of seven British riders on the team which also includes Norwegian champion Kurt-Asle Arvesen and his promising compatriot Edvald Boasson Hagen.

“Obviously the main goal is the Tour de France, but from day one when we start competing at the Tour Down Under we’ve got riders who can win right through the season,” Wiggins told a news conference.

“I am sure that if we hit all the goals the team want to hit early season, selection for Tour de France will not be a problem.”

Garmin-Transitions, who still had Wiggins contracted for another year, were disappointed with his departure.

“Although we understand his strong desire to be a part of the UK’s first-ever ProTour team, we would have loved to continue with him through 2010. His departure is not the outcome we hoped for,” they said in a statement.

Wiggins admitted it was a tough decision to leave.

“I still believed, as late as last weekend, that I would be with Garmin next year. I stayed away from the whole ins and outs of it all, and just let the people behind the scenes get on with it,” Wiggins said.

Together with seven-times Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong’s Team RadioShack, Team Sky will make its first competitive appearance at the Tour Down Under in Adelaide, Australia from Jan. 17 to 24.