Dave Brailsford will lead British Cycling for a further four years in the run-up to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Brailsford, the mastermind behind Great Britain’s cycling dominance at the past two Olympics, had suggested he would step back from his role as British Cycling performance director to focus on his position as Team Sky principal.
But the 48-year-old has confirmed he will remain in both roles, having this year seen Bradley Wiggins become the first Briton to win the Tour de France before leading Team GB’s cyclists to eight gold medals at London 2012.
“I’m not sure that I was ever going to let go and walk away as it were, but certainly in my mind I liked to think that after working through the Tour de France and Olympics, there was a safety valve where you can just go, ‘OK, let’s stop and look at where we are going’ and that was always built into my thinking,” said Brailsford.
“We might structure it slightly different, we might think about long-term succession planning. I like to think we are building something sustainable to Rio that if I just disappeared off sideways nobody would really notice and would just carry on.”
Brailsford first has to receive the thumbs up from an internal review, led by former British Cycling chief executive Peter King, which will ask for anonymous feedback from all riders, coaches and backroom staff before he continues in his role.
“We’ve come through quite an intense period and, like everything else, we stop and evaluate it,” Brailsford added. “What worked? And what is the most appropriate structure, from a coaching point of view, programme management point of view and my role?
“We always review after every Games but I just felt if you want a really good review you can’t do it yourself. Do it independently, talk about everything.
“And if you do it anonymously and people are confident that they can say what they want and there is no comeback, then hopefully you will get the truth and if you get the truth you can do something about it. Otherwise people will tell you what you want to hear.
“Peter King was somebody who knows and understands all the characters involved. The report is virtually done. If they say ’Get rid of Dave Brailsford’ I will be out.”
Brailsford has pledged his future to British Cycling despite a flood of job offers from other sports and the business world but, despite having been in the job for a decade, says his enthusiasm remains as high as ever.
“It was the same after Beijing – you get a bit of success and people are interested, keen to know how you do it,” he said. “Had I wished to change, I could’ve changed. If I wasn’t enthusiastic I’d stop, because I don’t need to do this. The moment I stop enjoying it I won’t do it.
“If I wake up and I’m not motivated, I’m not excited by it, I will step aside, because somebody else should be doing it.”
Brailsford will this week fly to Majorca to oversee the early stages of Bradley Wiggins’ winter training programme as Team Sky begin a three-month training camp on the Mediterranean island. Riders will come and go over the course of the winter as they begin their preparations for the 2013 season.
Meanwhile, Great Britain’s track squad, including Sir Chris Hoy and Laura Trott, will head to Australia for a month-long training camp led by British Cycling head coach Shane Sutton.
