MADRID, Nov 27 — Tour de France champion Alberto Contador confirmed yesterday he would remain with the Astana team for 2010.
“I will continue with Astana as we had expected,” the 26-year-old Spaniard said in a news release.
“I’m happy because it was time to resolve my future.”
“Given the circumstances of the last few months, I think at the end of the day I’ve taken the best decision possible.
“The only thing I can guarantee now is I’ll fight 100 percent for the Tour de France,” added Contador, who also won the race in 2007.
After a turbulent 2009, Contador had threatened to leave the Kazakh-funded Astana outfit and had opened negotiations with several other leading teams.
Contador announced last week he had reached a preliminary deal to fulfil his contract until the end of 2010 but it depended on the Kazakh-funded team retaining their ProTour licence, which would allow Astana to compete in the top events.
They had missed an earlier deadline for registration in October but on Wednesday the International Cycling Union (UCI) said the team’s licence had been approved.
“I had reached a pre-agreement with the team, but everything depended on the licence,” said Contador, one of five riders to win the three Grand Tours — France, Italy and Spain.
Despite winning the Tour in July, the Contador’s year was also marked by delayed wages and a difficult relationship with Astana team mate and seven-times Tour winner Lance Armstrong.
Armstrong and Astana team manager Johan Bruyneel are forming a new team, RadioShack, for next season. — Reuters
Show/Hide comments
Show/Hide comment form
