Contador in doubt for the return of Armstrong
MADRID, Spain Oct. 17, 2008 .- Alberto Contador said he would welcome Alexandre Vinokourov in the Astana team but still has doubts about the return of Lance Armstrong at cycling career.
The Spanish said in an interview with the AP that it would not oppose a return to Vinokourov of Astana, although the Kazakh yielded positive to doping in the Tour de France 2007 that won Contador.
“We met with his punishment, and really always says if you return or whether Astana will be excluded from the Tour on his arrival,” said Contador. “But the truth is that I have always had a good relationship with him.”
“It would be like if it any other rider to the team,” said Contador.
Astana was excluded from the Tour this year by several doping cases, which prevented Contador defend his title.
Contador won the Tour in 2007 and this year was crowned in the Giro d’Italia and the Tour of Spain.
The Spanish have said that as a team mate of Armstrong would be more complicated than Vinokourov. The American, winner of the Tour seven times, announced that it will return to cycling after a three-year retirement.
Contador said it has a “very good” with Armstrong, but acknowledged that it would be difficult to have two fellow team fighting for the same title on the Tour.
“The atmosphere of the team could be affected by any tension … but I think that whatever the competition or race, it is another comrade,” he said.
Contador hopes that the team leader Johan Bruyneel set clear roles when the team meets for the first time in January in California.
“The only thing is that in the Tour de France, where we all have the same objective, is better than the whole team knows who is the leader for that (the team) is not different leaders,” he said.
Although Astana has been strengthened with the arrival of Armstrong, Contador said that he is not sure if it will end its two-year contract with the Kazakh team.
“I’m taking every day. Right now I have my doubts and I have to see what happens this year,” he said.
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