THERE will be no shortage of Australian accents on the new British-backed Team Sky when it makes its racing debut at the Santos Tour Down Under in South Australia next January.

Backed to the tune of $100 million by James Murdoch, chairman and CEO of News Corporation Europe and Asia, the road team will be led by Inverell-born Scott Sunderland.

Sunderland, a former pro rider who has worked in team management at both Team CSC, the forerunner to Saxo Bank, and the Swiss-registered Cervelo Test Team, has been named Sports Director.

With the team's main aim a start in the Tour de France next year, Sunderland signed three Australians to race for Team Sky.

His prized signings include Simon Gerrans from Cervelo Test Team, Matt Hayman from Rabobank and Chris Sutton from Garmin-Slipstream.

Gerrans' move from Cervelo comes as no real surprise after the disappointment of not making the squad's nine-man roster for the Tour de France in July.

The Monaco-based rider from Mansfield, Victoria had impressed after some strong performance in all of the Ardennes Classics early in the season, then taking a stage win at the Giro d'Italia.

It was Sunderland who convinced Gerrans, a former winner of the Jayco-Herald Sun Tour and a five-time starter at the Tour de France, he'd be better off riding for the British.

Only last week Gerrans scored another good win by taking out the prestigious Grand Prix de Plouay in France.

Gerrans is currently riding the Tour of Spain in search of the stage win which would complete a hat-trick of stage victories from all three Grand Tours. He won on the Tour de France in 2008 and the Giro d'Italia earlier this year.