Tour de France winner Contador quits team
Tour de France winner Alberto Contador is to leave Team Astana at the end of the 2010 season after rejecting an offer to extend his contract.
The 27-year-old Spaniard, who won his third Tour in Paris on Sunday, now plans to "calmly explore all possibilities available to him".
A statement issued on Contador's behalf this afternoon read: "Alberto Contador has rejected the ultimatum of the Astana team, who had asked for a definitive answer to its offer of a contract renewal for the coming seasons.
"Contador had asked for time to consider his future, given the importance of this decision. Although the positions of both parties were not so far apart, the team wanted to know urgently whether or not the winner of the Triple Crown would lead the team in 2011, and that's where the positions began to differ."
