KZBlog

With talk everywhere that Alberto Contador is thinking of leaving Team Astana (See my post, The Dream Team is Over), the Astana Cycling Team Management released a statement this weekend that the two-time Tour de France winner from Spain has one more year left in his contract:

In order to clarify some misunderstandings reported in the media, the Astana Cycling Team Management reconfirms that 2009 Tour de France winner Alberto Contador is expected to ride for Team Astana in 2010. Prior to the 2008 season, Contador signed a three-year contract with Team Astana, ensuring that the rider will represent the Kazakh sponsored team for the years 2008, 2009 and 2010.

They also affirmed that despite problems this year with funding, sponsors have agreed to support the team at least until 2013. They also name Contador the leader of the team, without question, leaving hopefully soon-to-return Kazakhstan champion Vinokourov in a supporting role.

On the other hand, Contador has apparently been quite openly discussing offers he has received from teams such as Garmin-Slipstream, Katusha, Quick Step,and Caisse d’Epargne. So it sounds like he is planning to break his contract, leading many articles to claim he has no team or sponsor for 2010. On the other hand, the Velonews article states:

Contador talked about his options as he looks ahead to 2010 and beyond. He still has one year remaining on his contract with Astana, but he has indicated he’d like to move to a team that “knows the attitude to work for a leader.”

Which makes it sound like he is looking at 2011 and beyond. The fact that as of yet Contador has not released a statement countering Team Astana’s assertion that he will stay at Astana for 2010, also indicates that Alberto, like it or not, will be racing in the yellow and blue.