Mark Cavendish's 2012 plans still unclear as rumours grow of Team Sky stumbling block

I'm proud to announce Cav is now going to be riding for the LIverpool Mercury CC next season. He get's a brand new Dolan, use of the club house and free tea and cake (weekdays only -we're not made of money..) at the club run cafe in Rufford Lancs. A lead out team is yet to be agreed but with Brad living just 10 miles up the road and not keen on the Sky green kit and a couple of old pro riders in the club ready to give it a go we expect to make an announcement of the full team shortly....

To be honest i think it's the usual rubbish you get out of newspaper reporters to justify their existence.

If he signs for Sky good, if not then they make do with what they have already got but after signing Danny Pate i think Cav and Eisel will be next

Would Cav going anywhere other than Sky been seen as a snub to the UK Cycling scene?

Cav candidly admitted that the points accrued by Sky [to get the max amount of support for him], plus the work they did on the day, notwithstanding David Millar's contribution, put him in the Rainbow Jersey.

It's a testament to his talent that he achieved the win without his usual HTC Train but many argue that his position leading up to the line was down to the massive contribution Wiggins, Millar, Cummings et al made.

That said, I'm not being sentimental about Cav's team for 2012 - it would be great to see him flying the Rainbow jersey, backed by a (mainly) British Squad of riders. But it would also be great to see him lift the Olympic gold and retain the Green Jersey at the Tour, and have other magnificent talent trying to beat him, no matter who pays their wages or where they're from.

The competition's good for cycling, the transfer talk is unimportant in the wider scheme of things.

It's almost as if Brailsford is miffed because his team delivered for Cav, but let's not forget he, (Cav), was already favourite for the title, a position he made on the team of HTC, not Sky.

Wonder if it's Cav himself or his high-powered agents that are the stumbling block? Maybe he needs to remind them that they work for him, not the other way around.

In many ways I don't really mind whether he rides for Sky or for Omega-Tongue-Twister or whoever, just hope he makes the decision that's right for him in personal and sporting terms. If he does that then it won't do his market value any harm in the longer term. But it would be a real shame if he let his future at what should be the peak of his career be dictated by short-term financial gain.

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Can Team Sky afford Cav now everyone's going to buy football tv viewing cards from Greece?

I'm just wonder why some middle east multi billionaire hasn't got in on cycling yet??

Its happened in most other sports and with the profile of cycling rising all the time, they could go and form a super team, get ALL the top riders together in on team, a bit like BMC have been doing

Well all that speculation worked for Sky too, it's got to be good for a cycling team, and their sponsors, to be associated with one of the hottest stars of the moment… Sky have probably had more coverage, in this country at least, from their association with Cavendish than they've had out of the riders that are actually on their team.

My word this story is being milked for all its worth by Cavendish's people.

Be better is this sort of thing happened in the off season.

Of course things will have changed after his world champ win but i bet Braislford knew that and if he didn't plan for it he's naive at best, but months of Cav and Sky mentioned together in editorials is an PR/advertisers wet dream and getting as much press as his green/rainbow jersey combined.

Cav has to go where the likelihood of a most successful and happiest future lies. Where will his longer term interests be best looked after?

I don't think it is about greed as much opportunity. He must capitalise on his current value while he is hot.

I still think it would be a mistake for Sky to go for Cav, World Champ or not. I have believed ever since T-Mobile days that a team can no longer create a squad able to support 2 major TdF jerseys (irrespective of Ullrich's weaknesses). Cav may now have developed to be able to follow other wheels for wins but that will never deliver the number of wins that HTC delivered.

Stick to your guns Sky, go for gold (yellow), forget green. Froome and Wiggo showed at the Vuelta that you are so very close to the biggest cycling prize of all.

I agree about Cav deserving to earn whatever he can get even though I'm not a fan. Just really really dislike sport agents. Might be good for individuals but I don't think they do any sport any good.

I think Brailsford's comments that "it would be bitter if [Cavendish] won in the colours of a foreign team" just show that there's more than a little conflict of interest in the same guy being in charge of sky and team GB. it's something that British Cycling need to sort out I reckon.

Can't blame Cav for seeking his market value though, although I hope signing up with Wasserman is the only advice he's going to take from Larry.

Good luck to Cav, he deserves to be sought after so much. I bet HTC wish they had hung around a bit longer. Can't get my head round talk that he is being greedy, no way,he isn't cheating anyone, he has earned the right to be where he is.

I'm no big fan of Sky and the way they operate. I hope Cav finds another team.

Well Brad did tweet that he'd bought his Pinarello, so maybe he's not expecting to be riding one next year

Well that's not going to happen Gkam, the point here is about sponsorship not wages I'd say.

Cav is a very marketable property right now and he could probably make enough money in sponsorship to race for free if he wanted to - that's going to be the rub with Sky, they like to have complete control over all those aspects of their rider's contracts plus they'll want his image rights which must be worth a flippin' fortune… if he signed those over to Sky for the duration he'd probably be paying them to ride.

I'll bet his advisors would be prepared to trade on wages for control of image rights and personal sponsorship deals. You could even imagine a scenario where Sky found it cheaper to buy themselves out of their Pinarello and adidas contracts to get hold of Cav. Sky on Specialized next year anyone?

I thought Sky was a done deal and if it turns out he doesn't go to Sky, i can see it being because of money, If he's got some high flying agency in on the case, then money talks and now he is worth a fair bit being the world champion, so will that have gone to his head and now he's trying to be to greedy?

What if all the teams decide, nah, he's taking the piss with his wage demands and no-one takes him on, now that i would like to see

Sky provided not five but six GB team members for Cav, didn't they? Only Cav and Millar were non-Sky riders.