Mark Cavendish Joins Team Sky: Good for Cav, Bad for the Team?

The news that cycling fans have been expecting for weeks finally emerged yesterday, with Mark Cavendish signing to ride with the British Team Sky for next season.

On the face of it the move looks good for all involved. Team Sky have secured the services of undoubtedly the best sprinter in the world, and Cavendish Joins a British-run team, who will surely do their best for Britain's best known road cyclist.

However is this really the case?

It has been suggested that with the addition of Cav, Team Sky could win both Yellow and Green jerseys in next year's Tour De France. Yet this scenario has happened before. Might we have the situation that the T-Mobile squad found themselves in at the turn of the millennium? A team with too much on its plate?

In that supremely talented squad there was the problem of there being too many generals, with Jan Ullrich, Andreas Kloden and Alexandre Vinokourov all having the potential to win grand tours. Yet they were doomed to fall short against the US Postal squad, who were united behind Lance Armstrong.

Added to this equation was the presence of top sprinter Erik Zabel. A nine-man team in the Tour simply cannot sustain multiple GC contenders and a green jersey challenge. This was shown in various tours by that squad.

Take 2004 for example, T-mobile couldn't decide on whether Ullrich or Kloden should lead the team and they finished fourth and second respectively, both trounced by Armstrong. Kloden was over six minutes behind Armstrong, and Ullrich almost nine. Added to this disappointment was a distant third place for Zabel in the points classification.

Switch to the present day and Team Sky could find themselves in a similar position. Provided that Chris Froome's performance at this year's Vuelta was not just a one off, both he and Wiggins will fancy themselves for a spot on the podium in Paris. Here, Wiggins plays the part of Ullrich, and Froome that of Kloden.

Team principle Dave Brailsford should learn from history. If the mistakenly published 2012 Tour De France route proves to be correct when officially released on October 18th, Bradley Wiggins will be licking his lips at the prospect. With two individual time trials, Wiggins should be able to put some serious time between him and the other GC contenders.

The comparison is not necessarily bad news for Cavendish though. Despite his failure in 2004, Zabel's time with the T-Mobile squad was fruitful, winning the green jersey in six consecutive years. The fact that Sky have also brought in Bernhard Eisel, one of Cav's key lead-out men should ease the transition into a new squad.

The move will likely make no great difference to the world champion. Even with a diminished lead-out train he will continue to notch up impressive numbers of wins and, barring accidents, will wear the green jersey in Paris.

On the face of it, it is a good move for the team as well. Cavendish guarantees big victories in a way only one or two other men in the peloton can. The problems will lie in Team Sky's quest for yellow. It will be the likes of Schleck, Evans and Contador who will be happiest with this move by the end of next year's tour.