Published October 11, 2011 12:30PM
Bernhard Eisel, one of Mark Cavendish’s key domestiques in the grand tours, will join Cav on Team Sky in 2012, the team announced Tuesday.
The 30 year old Austrian has scored more than 20 victories in his own name during his 11 seasons as a professional, including stages at the Tours of Switzerland, Qatar and the Algarve.
He also won the 2008 Paris-Bourges and 2010 Ghent-Wevelgem titles aand two top-10 finishes at Paris-Roubaix.
“I’m really happy. I’ve had a great time with HTC-Highroad but at soon as I heard the team was folding I knew I would have to explore other possibilities and Team Sky were right at the top of my list. The biggest thing that attracted me to them was the structure they have in place and everything that happens behind the scenes. Everything is catered for the riders and I think that’s the perfect way to run a professional cycling team. The fact that I wanted to stay with Cav was also a major factor and we’re both happy that we will now have more years ahead of us.”