Tour de France champ Contador to stay with Astana

Tour de France champion Alberto Contador will remain with the Astana team at least until his contract expires at the end of next year, an official with the Kazakh Cycling Federation said Thursday.

The Spaniard's future with Astana has been unclear for months amid persistent doubts about the Kazakh team's financial viability.

"We have absolutely no problems with Alberto Contador, and he will compete with Astana next season," Kazakh Cycling Federation deputy president Nikolai Proskurin said.

The International Cycling Union (UCI) had warned that Astana's financial troubles could endanger its chances of securing a new four-year license, prompting speculation that Contador — the world's top-ranked rider — could be released by the team.

"Certain people, it is unclear who, have completely dreamed this up, but there has been no occasion on which he has made an official statement on this issue," Proskurin said.

Contador won the Tour de France for the second time in July with former teammate and seven-time Tour champion Lance Armstrong finishing third. Armstrong announced during the race that he was leaving Astana to form his own team for 2010 with Radio Shack as the sponsor.

Last week, Contador secured the top spot in the annual UCI individual world ranking, ahead of compatriots Alejandro Valverde and Samuel Sanchez.

Astana's current license with UCI is due to expire at the end of 2010, but recurring delays in paying salaries to riders have prompted the body to demand guarantees on the team's financial stability.

Proskurin shrugged off the resulting holdups in renewing its license as a technical matter, and said documentation attesting to Astana's financial health has been submitted.

"The issue is simply that we need to provide additional documents because we have changed our sponsors," he said.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has taken a personal interest in the fate of the team, which is seen as a prestige project for the Central Asian nation.

A state holding that encompasses some of the energy-rich nation's largest companies — including oil and gas company Kazmunaigas and national airline Air Astana — this month became the team's exclusive sponsor. The contract between Samruk-Kazyna and Astana runs through 2012.