Introduction: Why set up this blog?

As I have mentioned on my twitter feed I do not hate Team Sky nor do I wish to see them do badly. I actually support Team Sky in all the races they compete not just because I am British but because many of their riders are ones that I have always admired such as Chris Froome, Juan Antonio Flecha and Simon Gerrans. Why then set up this blog and twitter feed. 

Juan Antonio Flecha

I set up a twitter feed a couple of months ago to vent my frustration at some failings of Team Sky. I have slowly gained some followers due some mentions from others (thank you to The Inner Ring, Pave Blog, Neil Storey, Dave Marsdin and Freddie Shires and many others). The feedback I have received has been great and I often found that 140 characters was not really an adequate length to reply to people's questions, disagreements or viewpoints. 

My issue of Team Sky is not an anti Murdoch position but rather a frustration in the way the team is being run by its management and the damage this could cause the future of British Cycling. As I am sure you know the money Sky is putting into developing cycling is vast and goes far beyond Team Sky. A recent report from their corporate responsibility programme called “The Bigger Picture” described Sky's commitment to cycling as:

“We've formed a five year partnership with British Cycling, with an ambition to get a million more people across the UK cycling regularly by 2013. We plan to do this in two ways. First, we've developed a professional road cycling team, Team Sky, whose goal is to have a British rider win the Tour de France within five years. It's a big ask but it will be an epic journey - one which we hope will inspire a whole new generation of cyclists to get onto the saddle. Second, we've created Sky Ride, a series of traffic-free cycling events across the UK that thousands of people, whatever their ability, can join in and enjoy. These two elements, from the elite to the grassroots, have brought something new to the UK, something that people of all ages and abilities can get involved with - and they are. So far, we've inspired 300,000 people to get back on their bikes.” 

This illustrates how big Sky's commitment to cycling is, which we are very lucky in this country to have. My main problem is that this is an extremely rare opportunity that Sky has given British Cycling and it is being squandered by certain poor decisions made by those who run and work for the Team. Obviously Sky will not pull out of their commitment before 2013 but the management of Team Sky have a duty to the future generations of young British Cyclists.

Dave Brailsford and Shane Sutton

I would be a fool not to acknowledge what an incredible job the men above did in developing British Cycling into the impressive force that conquered all comers in Beijing on the Track in 2008. However they are now the ones to blame for the many mistakes that Team Sky has made so far. 

When in 2013 Sky is due to stop its partnership with British Cycling, Team Sky will go one of two ways. One fold completely or two continue under new sponsors as it such a good structure and ethos that it would make could sense for a company to takeover to gain greater exposure. I know the later is a long term goal of the team and the securing of IG Markets as a sponsor for the 2011 season is a good start. This would be the perfect way to safe guard the future of British Cycling. However the many failings of the team in 2010, and before in its creation, have done nothing but damage the potential future for the Team post 2013. My worry is that come 2013 Sky will fold and British Cycling fans will be without a team yet again in the Tour. This I am sure you would agree would be a disaster. 

In the coming weeks I will outline, what I feel to be, Team Sky's key failings and keep the blog updated on any development relating to Team Sky. Please feel free to comment any opinion below.