Sharon Laws signs for Cervelo Test Team

British cyclist Sharon Laws has signed for the Swiss based Cervelo Test Team on a one-year contract that sees her join forces with Emma Pooley and Lizzie Armitstead.

After last year's Olympic Games Laws decided to refocus on Mountain biking, riding for the Halfords-Bikehut team, but after sustaining a shoulder injury she returned to road racing in August and finished seventh in the Tour de l'Ardèche.

Quickly back up to speed on the road she went on to ride in the British women's team at Mendrisio in September.

Now she returns to the road full time, riding for the top-ranked women's team. "I signed with Cervelo because the team is run very professionally and will provide me with an incredible opportunity to develop and improve significantly as a rider," Laws said.

Laws only became a full time cyclist at the beginning of 2008 when she returned to the UK from Australia to make a bid for the British Olympic team. Previously she had been fitting her riding - mainly mountain biking - in around her work at mining company Rio Tinto.

She came to prominence when she finished second in the 2007 Australian road race championships. The Australian federation approached her around the same time she approached British Cycling to ask about the possibility of competing at the Beijing Olympics.

British Cycling quickly brought her onboard and after just a few months of racing Laws was selected for the Olympic team.

Disaster struck during her Olympic build-up when she crashed and broke her ankle while filming with the BBC just weeks before the Games.

The injury didn't stop her though, as she formed one third of the women's road race team that helped Nicole Cooke to victory.

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