体坛英语新闻：Tour de France winner Contador to leave Astana team

MADRID, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Tour de France winner Alberto Contador announced Wednesday that he would be leaving his Astana cycling team when his contract expires at the end of the current season.

The three times winner of the three week long cycling race, who has also won the Tours of Spain and Italy in his career, released a press statement explaining his decision.

"After winning the Tour de France in 2010, Alberto Contador will calmly study all of the possibilities which are offered for him to ride in the upcoming seasons and for the moment he has not ruled any of them out," reads the statement, before explaining his decision to leave his current team.

Astana team rider and Tour de France winner Alberto Contador of Spain arrives for an official welcoming ceremony in his hometown of Pinto, outside Madrid, July 26, 2010. Contador won the Tour de France for the third time on Sunday.

"Given the importance of the decision, Contador had asked for time from those responsible for the team in order to study his continuity. Although the positions of both parties were not that far apart, the team wanted to know urgently whether or not they could count on him, so they could start to design their team for the 2011 season. As a result, both positions became more distant," it explains.

The Spaniard has spent three years with the Astana team, including the 2009 season which was an uncomfortable time for him with the return of seven times Tour winner Lance Armstrong.

The pair enjoyed an uneasy relationship during the time they were both in the Astana outfit, with Contador beating the American into third place in the Tour.

Contador has already been linked with various other teams, including the Danish Saxo Bank outfit, where he would replace Andy Schleck, who has announced he is forming a team with his brother Frank after finishing second in this year's Tour.