Quick Step still has its eye on Contador

Alberto Contador decided to ride for Team Astana in 2010, but Quick Step hasn't given up hope of signing the Tour de France champion in the future. Team manager Patrick Lefevere said he will continue to go after Contador in the coming year.

Lefevere told the Gazet van Antwerpen that he expected Contador and his helpers to change teams again after the 2010 season, “so I am still negotiating his possible arrival.”

He was disappointed not to have signed the Spaniard. “I knew who the competitors were: Garmin and Caisse d'Epargne. There was nothing secretive about his agent's actions. But I did have the feeling that Quick Step was in the pole position.”

The Belgian team is keeping the vacancies on the roster until the 2009 Tour champion announces a final commitment. “I held four spots open,” Lefevere said, “one for Contador himself and for three of his close teammates. I won't fill them until the opportunity presents itself.”

The 27-year-old continues to make a great impression on Lefevere. “Last Saturday, Contador phoned me to thank me for the interest. Something like that happens to me rarely,” he noted. “Alberto is obviously a polite boy.”