After months of speculation, it has finally happened: Fabian Cancellara has bought himself out of his contract with the Saxo Bank team, according to cykelmagasinet.dk. He was due to ride for the Danish squad through 2011 but is now free to join another team. The Swiss World time trial champion left the Vuelta a España early in yesterday’s stage; this was much to the displeasure of director sportif Brad McGee as he was supposed to be riding in support of Fränk Schleck
He has since spoken to team owner Bjarne Riis and come to an arrangement that makes him free to leave the team at the end of this season.
"Fabian and I have made an agreement,” Riis told Danish TV channel TV2 Sport after today’s Vuelta stage, “and that means that he is not riding for my team next year. To be a part of my team you have to have the desire to do so and Fabian did not have it.
“I would have liked for him to have bade a better farewell to the team than the one he delivered yesterday, when he failed to meet a specific agreement with Bradley McGee,” he added.
According to McGee, Cancellara had agreed to ride the whole of yesterday’s stage for Schleck, but had instead climbed off his bike after just 20km. He had been complaining of lack of form in the race and suffered a rare time trial defeat on Wednesday.
There have been reports that sums of up to 3 million euro would be necessary to release the Swiss rider from his contract with Riis, but the Dane refused to comment on how much, if anything, had been agreed. Instead, Riis was more interested in the destination of his former star; rumours have linked Cancellara to the BMC Racing Team and the new Luxembourg team set up by the Schleck brothers, and where many of his other teammates are bound.
"Firstly we do not know yet whether he will be going to the Luxembourg team,” said Riis, “because there is not yet anything official. But where Fabian Cancellara is going to run next year, I think he must make an announcement."
Having left the Vuelta on such a sour note, and with few races after the World Championships that suit him, Cancellara may have ridden his last race for Saxo Bank. Whether his early exit in yesterday's stage could signal problems with the Schlecks is another question we will know the answer to soon enough.