Wiggins won a gold, a silver and a bronze in Athens

The 25-year-old track champion makes the switch after a strong finish to his first full season as a road cyclist.

Wiggins finished seventh in the World Championship time-trial and won a mountain stage at the Tour de l'Avenir.

He was unhappy at Credit Agricole, who wanted him to race through the season rather than target specific events.

"They (Credit Agricole) didn't feel they had the time to let a rider prepare for something like the prologue time-trial in the Tour de France," Wiggins said last week.

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"But now I've picked my goals and the results have come. "And now it's important to find a team who will have confidence in me and let me build a programme for the Tour prologue in Strasbourg next year."

Wiggins joins a team rebuilding following the departures of Australian duo Matt White and Stuart O'Grady.

Cofidis are probably the highest profile cycling team in France but they have had a troubled recent past including a police investigation into doping which led to the arrest of the last British rider to compete in their colours, David Millar.