"There may come a point where I decide to do one or the other, or I may have to choose, but at this moment in time there are people on the board who are watching this relationship very, very carefully. If it is financially driven then that is a clear conflict of interest and I don't want to be put in that situation. If I am financially rewarded, there could be a conflict of interest between a foreign rider on Team Sky and a British one. "I have to be very careful how I am perceived, with British Cycling and with Team Sky.
If I do a good job I'll stay, and if I don't I'll get fired," Brailsford said. "I have no interest in it, no options, no shares, nothing related to money at all. There is a service-level agreement between Tour Racing Limited and British Cycling that means Team Sky can purchase services from the national federation.īrailsford describes British Cycling as the team's 'ethical partner' and says his role as team principal is a salaried and contracted position. TRL is a holding company owned by BSkyB and on the board of TRL are two senior Sky executives and Ian Drake and Brian Cookson, the chief executive and president of British Cycling. To understand the delicate relationship, it's important to understand that Team Sky is owned by a company called Tour Racing Limited, which holds the team's UCI ProTour licence. The Tour de France does not figure on UK Sport's radar, but Brailsford said that the eventual goal of having all the men's endurance riders in Team Sky would only help the Olympic effort.īrailsford said that although British Cycling's resources and expertise will be at the disposal of Team Sky's riders, their services would not come free.
Nevertheless, the pressures on his time are huge and privately there are concerns that the national programme may suffer as the pro team takes off.īritish Cycling's elite programme is funded by UK Sport from National Lottery money, and the size of the cheque issued after London 2012 will depend in part on the number of Olympic and World Championship medals are delivered. However, he told CW he did not take any financial or equity stake in Team Sky. There's enough work there for two full-time jobs and some. Brailsford is Team Sky's team principal, but remains performance director of British Cycling.