MADRID, Sept 23, 2008 (AFP) – Alberto Contador, who won the Tour of Spain
on Sunday, hinted he may quit the Astana team if it hires Lance Armstrong, who
has announced he is coming out of retirement to seek a record eighth Tour de
France title.

The Spaniard was asked by the sports newspaper AS how he would feel if the
American joins Astana.

“It would be quite complicated. I think I’ve earned the right to be the
leader of a team without having to fight for it,” he said in the interview
published Tuesday.

“And with Armstrong, there could be difficult situations in which the team
would put him first and that would harm me.”

The 37-year-old Armstrong rocked the world of cycling earlier this month by
confirming that he was planning an audacious comeback with a view to winning a
record eighth Tour de France next summer.

Astana boss Joahn Bruyneel, who managed Armstrong as director of the US
Postal and Discovery Channel teams, said recently he would “not allow” the
American to join another team.

But Contador said he may quit the Kazakh-backed, Luxembourg-based team if
it hires the American, who is to give a press conference on Thursday at which
he is to announce his plans.

“I will base my decision on what he says,” the Spaniard said. “I intend to
stay because I am under contract until 2010, but I have received a good many
offers from other teams.

“Bruyneel believes I can deliver results, but it can’t be denied that he
made his name because of his ties to Armstrong.”

Contador won the Tour of Spain on Sunday to add his victories in the 2007
Tour de France winner and this year’s Giro d’Italia.

He is now only the fifth rider in history, and the first ever Spaniard, to
win all three of cycling’s three-week Tours.

His comments to AS contrast with those he made immediately after
Armstrong’s announcement.

“I would welcome (Armstrong) into the team with open arms because a cyclist
like him would fit in anywhere,” Contador said on September 10.

“I have always had the highest regard for him and would be delighted to be
in the same team as him.”

File Photo by: CorVos Pro