Three-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador has rejected an ultimatum from the Astana team and will leave it at the end of the season. The Kazakh squad had demanded an immediate decision about whether or not he would extend his contract.
In a release today, the Spaniard indicated that he had asked team officials for some time to evaluate his future given the magnitude of the decision. His contract with the Kazakh formation ends at the end of 2010, so the team demanded an immediate answer from the champion. Even though he said the two parties were "not that far apart", he has decided it was best for him to move on rather than be forced to make a decision.
Contador followed his then manager Johan Bruyneel over to Astana in 2008 when the Discovery Channel team folded. The Belgian had been asked to take over the team after doping positives from leaders Alexandre Vinokourov and Andrey Kashechkin. At the time, he signed a three-year deal with the squad, and has won two Tours de France (2009, 2010), the Giro d'Italia (2008) and the Vuelta a España (2008).
He had already refused a previous Astana offer of 4 million Euros per year for four years, opting instead to leave his options open for 2011. The Quick Step team said earlier this year that they were positive that he would ride for the Belgian team, but with Contador likely be tied to Specialized bicycles, it's unclear whether a deal for next season was made at that time. Quick Step swapped out the American brand for Eddy Merckx bicycles for the 2010 season as part of the dealings that saw the Tour champion remain with Astana.
Astana said in response to the news that they had set a deadline of July 25, the evening that the Tour de France completed in Paris. They learned of the news through a press release by the rider. They said they believed they were acting on Contador's wishes to expedite the process, so he could relax knowing his future was certain for next season. Astana then extended the deadline 48 hours at the request of Contador, and clarified that they were not trying to pressure the Tour winner.
"His decision to leave does not depend on us but on other outside proposals. We respect his choice, and wish him good luck," the team's statement concluded.
Garmin-Transitions has shown great interest in picking up the Spanish talent, and two-time Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso has said on many occasions that he wants to set up a top-level cycling team led by his compatriot. It has been rumored that Alonso's project would take over the Caisse d’Epargne core that would include manager Eusebius Unzué when the team's sponsorship ends this season. Banco Santander, a sponsor for Alonso's Ferrari team, has been rumored to take over the cycling sponsorship.
The rumor mill has also seen the Spaniard moving over to Bjarne Riis team to replace Andy and Frank Schleck when they leave to join a new team out of Luxembourg. Saxo Bank is ending its sponsorship at the end of the season, and Sungard will be taking over as a co-sponsor, with the other co-sponsor to be named this fall. VeloNation reported more than a week ago that Specialized was rumored to be the additional co-sponsor of Riis' team.
The release said that he will now take his time to explore all of the possible options available.