Team Sky Announcement - Media Coverage

26 Feb 2009

There's been comprehensive coverage of the the Sky Team Announcement in both the mainstream and cycling-specific media. We've collected links to some of the more prominent pieces below.

Skysports.com - Skysports sets the announcement in the context of Sky's broader support of British Cycling and includes lengthy feedback from Jeremy Darroch, the Sky CEO.

 

The Guardian  - Will Fotheringham leads with "Brailsford needs a credible leading man for his 'epic story'" and asks who the "special" athlete with ability to win the Tour might be, considering names such as Ben Swift, Peter Kennaugh and even Liam Killeen along the way.

Daily Telegraph - Brendan Gallager leads with "The Brits are coming but this time we are not talking Oscars." He too looks at the likely team roster and again the name of mountain biker Liam Killeen is dropped in there along with the other usual suspects. Gallagher also considers the prospect of star overseas signings.

The Times - In the Times, feature writer Owen Slot opens with the observation that "The bold ambition of the project would seem even more far-reaching were it not being delivered by Dave Brailsford.". He then considers the heavy workload likely to be imposed on the team's staff as the team is assembled and there is also consideration given to the team's "British" identity and Dave Brailsford's determination that the team must be "clean".

 

The Sun - The Sun's Andrew Dillon concentrates on the team's "soccer-style spending power".

 

Cycling Weekly - Lionel Birnie is the man with the task of analysing the announcement for Cycling Weekly and he explores the "vision to crown the first British Tour de France winner, with an ambitious timescale of achieving it in the next five years." Birnie admits it's a big challenge but goes on to conclude that there is a "far greater chance now than ever before" of it happening.

cyclingnews.com - The emphasis in cyclingnews.com's coverage is on the balance between the team's need to embrace "foreign" talent and its "British Ethos".