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Sunday, July 6, 2008 Steegmans to ditch Quick Step for Tinkoff by Agence France-Presse at 8:58 AM EST   comments Categories: Pro Cycling   Belgian sprinter Gert Steegmans, a former stage winner here at the Tour de France, will join the Russian Tinkoff team on a two-year deal, it was revealed at the race here Sunday. Steegmans is currently a teammate of former world champion Tom Boonen, who was told by organisers he would not be welcome at the Tour following his positive test for cocaine earlier this season. The news of Steegmans' departure will be a further blow to Quick Step, whose aims at the Tour this year fall mostly on the big Belgian's shoulders. According to Quick Step team manager Patrick Lefevere, Belgium's top team could not match the offer being made by Tinkoff, which is owned by Russian businessman Oleg Tinkov. Steegmans won the Tour's second stage in Ghent, in 2007.       comments Follow @Pro_Cycling Tweet Subscribe via RSS or daily email Contact the editor about this article