Updated: The cyclists on the Discovery Channel pro cycling team are scattering to the four winds.
Spain's Alberto Contador, right, and California's Levi Leipheimer, left, have both confirmed they're following team manager Johan Bruyneel to Kazakhstan-based Astana.
Those are some big guns for Astana. Contador won the 2007 Tour de France and Leipheimer finished in 3rd. The Santa Rosa resident also won the Tour of California in 2007 and won the US National Championships this fall.
Tour of Marin
Leipheimer was one of the last on the Disco team to not have announced a team of record. He rode at the Tour of Marin over the weekend and said that he has a deal, he just can't talk about it.
He's quoted at the Marin Independent:
“As long as I know where I'm going, and I have a job for next year, that's what matters. I think I chose the right team and I'm looking forward to next year's Tour de France.”
ESPN later reported that Leipheimer confirmed he was heading to Astana, formerly the home of Alexander Vinokourov, who was one of the cyclists booted from this year's Tour for allegedly doping.
Cyclists who earlier announced they were heading to Astana included former cyclist Viatcheslav Ekimov as directeur sportif, and Sean Yates. Now Paceline, the fan website for the Discovery Channel team reports more cyclists are heading there. They are:
2007 Tour de Georgia winner Jani Brajkovic, grand tours specialists Benjamin Noval and Sergio Paulinho and sprinter Tomas Vaitkus
Paceline is keeping running tabs of the future whereabouts of the team members.
Among them, George Hincapie is going to T-Mobile, Tom Danielson to Slipstream, Jason McCartney to Team CSC, and Yaroslav Popovych to Predictor-Lotto. The others can be seen at “Where are they headed?”
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