Cavendish to leave Team Sky

Paris - Mark Cavendish is to leave Team Sky for Belgian team Omeda Pharma-Quickstep, the British cycling outfit announced on Thursday.

The 27-year-old, who has won 23 stages on the Tour de France and was the 2011 world road race champion, expressed a desire to move on 12 months into a three-year contract, believing Team Sky's stated ambitions and his own no longer matched.

Earlier this week Cavendish was preparing for a second season with Team Sky after protracted talks over an early termination broke down, but now the Isle of Man native will get his wish to move on.

A statement on www.teamsky.com read: "Mark Cavendish is to leave Team Sky to join Belgian team Omega Pharma-QuickStep ahead of the 2013 season."