Tour champion only needs to finalise minor points with Kazakh squad
A move by Alberto Contador to the Caisse d’Epargne team setup was tipped by many, particularly as the Spanish squad is missing a leader after the suspension of Alejandro Valverde. However the squad’s future now looks in question as no new backer has been found for 2011, and Contador is poised to remain with his current Astana team.
The rider’s brother and manager Fran Contador confirmed that the double Tour de France winner had weighted up the various options and that remaining with the Kazakh team appears to be the most likely outcome.
“The biggest opportunity that we have now, and the most viable and advanced, is that of Astana,” he told Biciciclismo. “We’ve had a meeting with the sponsors. We only have to agree on some details and I think there will be no major problems. The length of the contract is not defined, but it will be for a minimum of two years. That is something we have to discuss…it will be two or three years.”
As VeloNation mentioned yesterday, four teams were courting Contador’s signature. Astana and Caisse d’Epargne were two of those, while Garmin Transitions and Quick Step were the others. His brother said that things had not gone beyond the initial stage with those other suitors, suggesting that they Astana option is a very solid one for all concerned.
“We have contacted other teams but we have not sat down to negotiate. Alberto has several important possibilities, but there is one that we are weighing up a lot and which may be the final. And it is to continue in Astana. Today that is the most likely option.”
The 27 year old is fully focussed on winning his third Tour de France, and the fifth Grand Tour of his career, but a little time will also be made to completely the discussions. Fran Contador said that the rider wants to be able to take a vacation after the Tour and not have the issue hanging over him, as was the case last year. He said that he expects a deal to be done during the race or at the end of it.
The news appeared unlikely at this point last year, as all indications were that the rider was as keen as possible to move on. The 2009 version of Astana had problems with payment and there were also uncertainties about its future, but all appears to have been resolved now.
Saying that the current team has “nothing to do with the previous years,” Fran Contador said the will is now there to build a very solid project. “Above all, the sponsors are very interested in continuing with this project and make the best team around Alberto,” he explained. “It is their desire. This year, despite all the inconveniences that went on before, we have a good team that can get better and better.”
Caisse d’Epargne in troubled waters:
Twelve months ago, the expectations were that Contador would most likely be racing with a Spanish team in the near future. Formula One star Fernando Alonso had stated on several occasions that he wanted to be involved in a project with the rider, and it is was reported that Banco Santander was interested.
Whether or not that was true, and whether or not the bank got cold feet over the allegations against Valverde, things are now looking very worrying for the riders and staff employed there.
The structure of the team has been in place for the past 30 years, beginning with Reynolds as the title sponsor, and then being backed by Banesto, Iles Baleares and Caisse d’Epargne. During the period between 1988 and 1995, the team won six Tours de France thanks to Pedro Delgado and Miguel Indurain. It also won the 2009 Vuelta a España with Valverde.
However the latter was implicated in Operación Puerto back in 2006 and since then his continued presence on the team has garnered a fair share of negative headlines. Punishment finally caught up with him at the end of May when he was handed a lengthy ban by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. That undoubtedly did sponsorship negotiations some harm, and the team manager Francis Lafargue told Reuters yesterday that things were looking bleak.
“We have leads but nothing’s been signed. It’s hard,” he said. Then, choosing to ignore the fact that the team insisted Valverde was innocent and had blocked measures to ban him for a long, long time, he appeared to blame the attention that is focussed on drug use within the sport. “What with cycling’s degraded image because of doping and the financial crisis, it’s getting more and more difficult. The future is very uncertain,” he said.
He is continuing his claims that Valverde was badly treated. “We still believe that the decision was unjust but there is nothing we can do,” he said. “It is hard for a team to be motivated on the Tour without a leader fighting for victory.”
However that’s what it must do; the future may be bleak, but the best response is to pick up a stage win or two, thus making sure the headlines generated over the next few weeks are positive ones.