Dani King is adamant a year spent concentrating on the road will leave her best prepared to defend her Olympic team pursuit title at Rio 2016.
King is a three-time world champion in the team pursuit but will forgo the forthcoming track season which begins with the European Championships in Guadeloupe later this month in order to focus on the road with Wiggle-Honda.
The 23-year-old put in an impressive performance at the inaugural Women’s Tour earlier in the year and won a silver medal at the British Cycling National Road Race Championships behind Lizzie Armitstead.
"I'm really excited to be given this opportunity by British Cycling to go and do a full season on the road with Wiggle-Honda,” she said.
"The idea of riding a road season as preparation for team pursuit hasn't been done before in our squad, but is a tried and tested method within the men's endurance squad with Team Sky.
"I therefore believe it will enable me to get the best out of myself as a cyclist and give me the best chance possible to defend the Olympic title I won at London 2012 in the team pursuit."
King’s move from track endurance to the road is supported by British Cycling who, in a statement, said the decision was made "in order to give Dani the best opportunity for her to develop as a cyclist and to realise her ambition of defending her Olympic title at Rio de Janeiro in 2016.”
© Sportsbeat 2014