Team Sky earlier today revealed the 28 riders that will make up the team's squad for the 2012 pro road cycling season and presented Mark Cavendish in his Team Sky World Champion jersey.

British Team Sky's 2012 roster includes ten British riders and adds eight new riders to the squad.

As well as World Champion Mark Cavendish, Team Sky has welcomed former HTC-Highroad teammates Bernhard Eisel, Danny Pate and Kanstantsin Siutsou, neo-pros Salvatore Puccio and Luke Rowe, Sergio Henao, and former Giro d'Italia pink jersey holder Richie Porte.

Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome and Edvald Boasson Hagen all remain part of Team Sky's roster and are ready to tackle the grand Tours of the 2012 season.

Team Sky is hoping to build on a hugely successful 2011 season, which saw them finish second in the UCI WorldTour team rankings with 32 wins and a further 71 podium finishes.

Those results included Edvald Boasson Hagen's two stage-winning displays in the 2011 Tour de France, Bradley Wiggins' Criterium du Dauphine Libere success, and a remarkable 2011 Vuelta a Espana strike, which saw Chris Froome and Wiggins both secure places on the Vuelta a Espana podium in Madrid.

Commenting on his expectations for the 2012 season and his move to Team Sky, World Champion Mark Cavendish told Roadcycling.com and our mobile sister site Roadcycling.mobi "I could not be more excited about the coming season. In many ways [joining Team Sky] has felt like coming home. I've grown up with many of the riders and management and they have shown in just two years how far they have come. It is a hugely professional set up and arguably the strongest team in the world. It is definitely a team that will win races."

Asked to comment on his thoughts about being part of a British pro cycling team Cavendish added "Being in a British team at a time when our sport is booming is a dream come true. I want to help continue that growth and I know that together as a team we can help inspire even more people to get on their bikes and have a go themselves."

Team Sky co-captain Bradley Wiggins who was struck with bad luck in last year's Tour de France only to return with a powerful and strong performance in the later Vuelta a Espana told Roadcycling.com and Roadcycling.mobi "We have a fantastic looking squad for 2012 and I think we are in great shape to build on our successes last year. The support we continue to receive from fans around the world, and especially in the UK, is tremendous and we are going to be looking to repay that on the road this year."

Commenting on the potential conflict of interest between Mark Cavendish and the GC riders Wiggins said "If there is one thing this team is known for already it's that we have ambition. With Mark Cavendish joining the team we are ready to target sprints and GC in the same race and that is hugely exciting. There is nothing we like more than someone saying it can't be done."

"We made great strides in 2011, in what was our second season as a WorldTour team. The challenge for all of us is to build on those achievements and become an even stronger and more successful team. With Mark Cavendish joining riders like Bradley Wiggins, Geraint Thomas and Edvald Boasson Hagen, we have a hugely talented squad of riders with proven ability at the very highest level of our sport," Team Sky General Manager Dave Brailsford told Roadcycling.com when asked to reflect on the 2011 season and the challenges of the coming season.

"The next ten months will be a huge, but exceptionally exciting challenge. We will be looking to compete on every day of every race and continue the momentum the team created in 2011. These are exciting times for Team Sky and we can't wait for the season to start."

2012 Team Sky Roster:
Mark Cavendish (GBR)
Bradley Wiggins (GBR)
Chris Froome (GBR)
Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR)
Davide Appollonio (ITA)
Michael Barry (CAN)
Alex Dowsett (GBR)
Bernhard Eisel (AUT)
Juan Antonio Flecha (ESP)
Mathew Hayman (AUS)
Sergio Henao (COL)
Jeremy Hunt (GBR)
Peter Kennaugh (GBR)
Christian Knees (GER)
Thomas Löfkvist (SWE)
Lars-Petter Nordhaug (NOR)
Danny Pate (USA)
Richie Porte (AUS)
Salvatore Puccio (ITA)
Michael Rogers (AUS)
Luke Rowe (GBR)
Ian Stannard (GBR)
Kanstantsin Siutsou (BLR)
Chris Sutton (AUS)
Ben Swift (GBR)
Geraint Thomas (GBR)
Rigoberto Urán (COL)
Xabier Zandio (ESP)