Oscar Pereiro, the winner of the 2006 Tour de France, announced today at a press conference that he has sued the Astana team for breach of contract. He signed a contract with the Kazakh team on 12 November but is "very likely" to retire from professional cycling.
"Probably this is my farewell,” he said. “I say this because I am a realistic person: my lawyers are trying to find a way out and we are talking with several teams, but it's very difficult because I have a signed contract will come into force on 1 January. And I’d have to sign another contract before I end this one with Astana.”
If the 32-year-old is forced to end his career here he will have no regrets he says: “If I have to stop it will not be a problem, because for months I was getting used to this eventuality; then I got the offer of Astana.
“First they tried, we agreed, they told me that everything was ok and then they began to avoid me. Then the manager Yvon Sanquer asked me to renegotiate the agreement, the third winding down...”
The Spanish Tour winner had been signed to ride for his compatriot, the current Tour champion Alberto Contador, but it seems that the Astana team did not have the necessary funds available. “They told me that their budget did not allow my engagement,” he concluded, “so I told them that I would put the matter in the hands of lawyers, and so I did.”