CYCLING legend Mark Cavendish confirmed in October that he will be riding for Team Sky next season.

The 26-year-old Manxman has enjoyed the most successful season of his career this year.

In September he became world champion after securing the World Road Race title and the coveted rainbow jersey in Copenhagen.

In July he won five stages of the Tour de France and secured the green jersey as the race's overall leading points scorer.

Cavendish announced he would be riding for Team Sky on the social networking site Twitter.

Team Sky Principal Dave Brailsford said: "Mark is the greatest sprinter of his generation and is well on his way to becoming the greatest of all time.

"He is a rider of exceptional talent who has proved his pedigree at the very highest level of our sport.

"Mark is a born winner and what excites me most is the attitude he brings to all the teams he rides for.

"We want to inspire more fans to get into cycling and I can think of no one better to help us do that. We are delighted that the new world champion will be riding for Team Sky next season."

Mark Cavendish also announced in October that he was to become a father for the first time – again revealing the news on Twitter.

He tweeted: "I'm happy to announce, beyond doubt, my proudest moment of this year @petatodd is pregnant. I'm going to be a daddy."

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This story is part of isleofman.com's Review of the Year 2011.