Michael Rogers joins Sky on two-year contract
Australian rider Michael Rogers has signed a contract that will have him ride for British outfit Sky for the next two seasons.
Rogers, who won the Tour of California in May despite being troubled by injuries throughout the season, said he is happy with manager Dave Brailsford's ambitions at Sky, a team that formed in December 2009 and enjoyed a moderately successful first season
this year.
Among Sky's 2010 victories were Bradley Wiggins' stage win at the Giro d'Italia and a sweep of all three podium places at the British National Road Race Championships, where Geraint Thomas claimed first place.
"Sky was looking to bolster their team. I started speaking to them some weeks ago and we came to a deal and finally sealed it," Rogers told Cyclingnews on Monday.
Role at 2011 Tour not decided
It has been speculated that Rogers will lead Sky at the 2011 Tour de France, but the Australian said his roles for next season have yet to be defined.
"With regards to the Tour, certainly I’ll be there but as for what role, that’s not been decided yet. The Tour is a very important goal for the team and I can’t name one rider that doesn’t want to have a good ride or win a stage."
This year, Swedish rider Thomas Lovkvist finished 17th overall in the Tour for Sky, 20 minutes and 46 seconds behind winner Alberto Contador. Despite Lovkvist's inspired performance, Rogers stressed that Tour victories do not come easily.
"Winning the Tour, that takes time. You can’t just rock up to the Tour and win it. It’s a thing that takes time and it’s such a hard race to perform well in. It might take a couple of years to get to that stage. It’s no easy feat but it’s something we’ll
work on and there’s no reason why we can’t do it."
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