Contador seeking legal advice

Eurosport - Fri, 23 Oct 10:04:00 2009

Tour de France champion Alberto Contador has said he is waiting for legal advice before deciding whether to break his contract with his Astana team.

CYCLING 2008 Alberto Contador Astana - 0

Contador is under contract to Kazakh-funded Astana until 2010 but has repeatedly said he would like to leave to join a team with the capacity to support him in a bid for a third Tour de France victory next year.

"After all these months of waiting, I am very calm at last," Contador said.

"My lawyers are the ones who will say whether it is possible to break my contract or not. I hope to know their opinion as soon as possible, as well as experts from the UCI, in order to make a decision.

"Meanwhile, I keep working as before, focused exclusively on my training."

UCI spokesman Enrico Carpani said Contador could leave Astana under the governing body's rules, which state that a rider is free to go if his team have not had their ProTour licence renewed by October 20.

"Just look at the regulations, he can go, no problem with the UCI. If a team is not on our ProTour list on October 20, any rider is free to leave that team," Carpani said.

"Then, I do not know what kind of contract he has with Astana, so that's up to him to look into that."

Astana were not immediately available for comment. On Thursday, the UCI published a list of teams who had been granted a ProTour licence, which gives them the right to take part in the biggest races.

Astana, along with Team Sky, Caisse d'Epargne, Saxo Bank and Euskaltel Euskadi, were not on the list, although they have until November 20 to meet the UCI's requirement for a ProTour licence.

Contador, who is one of five riders to win the three Grand Tours - France, Italy and Spain - has been contacted by Quick Step and has also expressed an interest in the Garmin-Slipstream and Caisse d'Epargne teams.

His brother and agent, Fran Contador, said in a statement: "Our lawyers are studying the details of the UCI regulations to make the right decision in coming days.

"Lawyers should clarify whether it is possible to implement the new article introduced last July in the model contract proposed by the UCI for riders to sign with a UCI ProTour team.

"According to experts, the interpretation of the law can be confusing and we want to be sure before making any decisions," he added.

Reuters

Comment 3 - 22 of 22

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  1. With regard to the question of Team Sky and their Pro­ Tour licence, as far as I can make out Eurosport are­ getting muddled up. Every Pro Team has to submit­ registration documents for the upcoming season, the­ list released last week by the UCI was of the teams­ that had done this. Team Sky have been awarded a­ licence but if they don't submit their registration­ before 20th November they could lose it.

    From Nutty Professor, on Mon 26 Oct 7:22PM

  2. Why has it taken him so long to get the lawers working?­ - surely he has grounds for leaving as Astana were in­ breach of their employment contracts to the whole team­ when they were not paying salaries earlier this year?

    From Bikefan, on Sat 24 Oct 1:28PM

  3. singletrack----I agree

    From chad, on Sat 24 Oct 12:31PM

  4. I hope Contador is forced to stay with Astana! Why does­ he need a supporting cast to win the tour? He claims he­ won this years tour on his on without any support from­ his team. I would love to see him TRY to win in 2010­ without the strength of the teams he won his other­ grand tours with!
    He's a BABY!

    From singletrack, on Sat 24 Oct 9:45AM
  5. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Would you like to make friends with people from other­ country or place?
    Log on--------- T ALL Cha t ---C o m­ ----
    Then you can get help and suggestions from all­ over the world.
    While you may find your true love or­ friendship there.

    From kojanet26, on Sat 24 Oct 8:56AM

  6. Can Eurosport clarify the position vis a vis Team Sky? ­ Like obriendonal, I understood from previous reports­ that Team Sky had a 4 year Pro licence?

    From Norrie Batchelor, on Sat 24 Oct 4:24AM

  7. Im not really an Alberto fan but i hope he does prevail­ on this one, Astana were riding some of last year with­ sponsors names blanked out because of none payments and­ in all fairness when you sign a contract you expect to­ be paid....on time!

    From steven.hughes123, on Sat 24 Oct 3:09AM

  8. The "bad precedent" has already been set by­ Astana…consistently missing UCI deadlines and not­ paying their riders for months. The other teams missing­ the deadline will be fine, all have a grace period in­ which to get this done. It’s only significant in this­ particular case in that it potentially gives Contador­ an out in his contract. All the lawyers have to do at­ this point is determine if the UCI rule (instituted­ this summer) can apply to contracts signed prior to the­ rule’s adoption. I can see why AC has been calm, all he­ had to do was wait for Astana to shoot itself in the­ foot which they predictably did in short order.

    From Marco Jaramillo, on Sat 24 Oct 3:05AM

  9. cthenn ........ It's not just a case of AC walking­ out on his contract, read the article, It's the UCI­ laws on team licenses that is causing this situation.­ Because Astana haven't got their house in order­ riders contracted to them are allowed to leave to­ secure their own futures.

    Now this happens to be­ perfect for AC so he'll probably use it, but for­ other riders who haven't got teams queing up for­ their services it's probably best to wait and­ see.

    Considering what's happened over the last­ couple or three seasons with Astana, Its riders &­ the UCI it's probably played right into his hands­ now ........ and been honest you couldn't blame him­ for wanting to go before the next bout of­ embarrassment!

    Anyone taking bets that the UCI will­ hold out on this one till Astana are out of the­ picture?

    From mattinson.richard, on Sat 24 Oct 2:42AM
  10. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    I hope he does NOT prevail. This would set a bad­ precedent. So because Astana's riders from 2009­ have mostly all left, AC sees no real team behind him,­ so he wants to break his contract? That's­ bull****! If AC is able to break his contract, then­ what this does is set precedent so any disgruntled, or­ unhappy rider can leave his team, and contracts will­ mean nothing! This is about more than just AC. The­ teams are on the hook here too! I will admit that­ Astana is kind of a joke now, but what would happen if­ a rider like Cadel Evans finally got fed up with­ Silence never fielding a legitimate team behind him?? ­ Evans could just leave, and then Silence is left­ holding the bag.

    And if these riders think the teams­ they sign with are no good, or will be no good a few­ years into their contracts, then they should either NOT­ sign with that team, or not sign a multi-year deal! ­ But no, the riders all want the security (and a lot­ more $$$!!!) but if they don't like where the team­ is, then they whine and cry and try to­ leave...that's wrong!

    You AC fans have to see­ this...I know the red and yellow colored glasses bias­ your viewpoint, but it's true...if AC gets out of­ his contract with no consequences, then cycling will­ degenerate into a sport like NBA basketball, where the­ spoiled players sign big money contracts, then cry like­ babies when they don't like the coach or the team­ anymore. (Read about Stephen Jackson with the­ Warriors.)

    From cthenn, on Sat 24 Oct 1:17AM

  11. Its about a time

    From bobcha78, on Sat 24 Oct 12:10AM

  12. I just want them to settle quickly so he can sign for­ Garmin, allowing Wiggo can go to Sky.

    From terrytrudgian, on Fri 23 Oct 10:17PM

  13. Good point about Astana, if all these riders are free­ and Astana has the $$$$ it would seems they would be­ the beneficiary. AC is by all measures, the top­ cyclist in the world and deservedly needs assurance­ that he is team captain and no surpise, surprise!.

    From mandojimbo, on Fri 23 Oct 9:38PM

  14. quote - "I typed in American"
    Is there a­ problem with the Brazilians, Argies, or maybe the­ Canadians. very puzzling that they should object.

    From John S, on Fri 23 Oct 8:22PM

  15. They will just have to keep looking then and it will be­ a long time before they find one.

    From John S, on Fri 23 Oct 8:16PM

  16. Oh Eurosport,

    Sky got a 4 year licence on the 19th of­ October!

    From obriendonal, on Fri 23 Oct 7:26PM

  17. Anyone else think it is funny that AC's agent and­ manager (his brother) didn't know of this clause...­ (Last comment on the article). Is it not his job, among­ other things to know the workings of the contract­ etc...???

    AC is better off out of Astana and despite­ him being his brother, is better off looking for a new­ manager if those are the statements made!

    ANYHOW, Good­ luck to him and whoever he goes to next year. It will­ be fun no matter what in 2010!

    From obriendonal, on Fri 23 Oct 7:24PM

  18. Best decision UCI has made all year. But what is going­ on with Sky, Saxo, Casse d' Panne, Eska?

    From keir_williams, on Fri 23 Oct 5:54PM

  19. LOL jbandbetsymac XDDD
    Choose a good team, Alberto.­ Paris loves you.

    From Mike, on Fri 23 Oct 5:49PM

  20. LOL Sorry, I typed in American. The four letter word­ that was censored was tee oh ess ess. That's funny.

    From John, on Fri 23 Oct 5:43PM
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