Bradley Wiggins CBE is set to lead Team Sky in the major stage races, with the Tour de France his - and the team's - big target for 2010. There, the Londoner will hope to improve on his sensational performance in 2009, when he equalled the best ever performance by a British rider, finishing fourth in Paris, just as Scotsman Robert Millar did 25 years earlier.

It was a breakthrough performance by Wiggins, and completed his stunning transformation from track superstar to road star. Having medalled on the track in the previous three Olympic Games - including three golds, with two in Beijing in 2008 - he switched his focus to the road.

At the start of the 2009 Tour de France, in Monaco, Wiggins mentioned "top twenty" as a realistic ambition. But it became clear, after his third place in the opening time trial, and especially as the race hit the mountains, that this was more than realistic.

On the mountain stages Wiggins was to the fore, riding at the front alongside the eventual winner Alberto Contador, second-placed Andy Schleck and seven-time winner Lance Armstrong, and even attacking this trio on the Alpine stage to Verbier. By the time they reached Paris, Wiggins trailed Armstrong - and therefore missed out on a place on the podium - by just 37 seconds.

"It was an amazing year for me and my ride at the Tour has given me the drive to aim even higher," says Wiggins. "I know I can continue to develop and Team Sky is the perfect place to make that happen.

"I've known Dave Brailsford and his team for so long, through three Olympic cycles, that it feels like coming home. The coaches involved with this team are the people who have shaped me as a rider; they are instrumental in my achievements so far and I know they will be critical in the next part of my career.

"Team Sky has huge ambitions, not just for the team but for cycling and inspiring the public to ride. It's an amazing project and the next four years will be very exciting. To be part of this team from the start is something quite special."