Team confirms he won’t join Cancellara, Schlecks and others in moving across from RadioShack Leopard
Following a tweet two days ago by Chris Horner which suggested that he is heading to a different setup next year, the future Trek Factory Racing team has confirmed that the rider has indeed indicated that he won’t follow current RadioShack Leopard team-mates such as Fabian Cancellara and the Schleck brothers across to the squad in 2014.
Horner has been part of the RadioShack Leopard setup for the past two seasons but didn’t reach an agreement in negotiations with the new squad.
It means that he will be contracted with a different setup next year, something which Trek says it regrets.
“Chris is a great rider, champion, and person and we wish we could have worked something out,” the company told VeloNation.
“Though we could not find common ground, it is not a reflection of how we feel about Chris whom we greatly respect and admire. All of us wish him the best in the future.”
Last month, Horner won two stages plus the overall classification in the Vuelta a España, thus becoming the oldest Grand Tour winner ever.
However he struggled to get the offers that he said he deserved. He said in several interviews that he felt he was undervalued and was holding out for a salary that he believed was warranted, given his Vuelta a España win.
However given his age – he will turn 42 next week – plus the large number of teams folding and driving down the market value of riders, he experienced a scarcity of offers.
On Thursday a spokesman for the Trek Factory Racing team told VeloNation that the company felt there was still a chance that he would be part of the new setup in 2014.
“There’s nothing final to report yet but we're still hoping to work something out,” Eric Bjorling stated.
However Horner suggested via Twitter a short time later that he would be leaving the fold. “Thanks to the staff, riders, and sponsors at @RSLT for a great four years. I'll be going somewhere else for 2014.”
He has not yet clarified if he has already got a team, or if he simply run out of patience with Trek and has resolved to leave for that reason.
Biological passport expert Robin Parisotto yesterday said that he had some concerns about Horner’s blood profile and that he believed that further testing was warranted.
Horner has always insisted that he competes clean.