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Contador staying after Astana approved

Alberto Contador will be hoping to celebrate another Tour de France victory with Astana next year.
Alberto Contador will be hoping to celebrate another Tour de France victory with Astana next year.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Tour de France winner Alberto Contador's immediate future has finally been sorted out
  • The Spaniard has finalized an agreement to remain with Astana team for the 2010 season
  • Contador will stay with the Kazakh-based team after they were awarded a ProTour licence

(CNN) -- Alberto Contador's immediate future has finally been sorted out after his Astana team were finally granted their ProTour licence on Thursday.

The defending Tour de France champion last week reached a preliminary agreement with the Kazakh-backed team to see out the final year of his contract -- on the basis that a proTour licence was approved for 2010.

Contador said in a statement: "I am pleased with this solution because it was time to clarify my future. I had reached a preliminary agreement with the team and was all pending on the license. Finally, as expected, I will continue with Astana."

The Spaniard is now focused on retaining the Tour title he won for the second time in the summer.

"After all the circumstances that have occurred in these months, I think at the end I made the best decision and all I can say is that I will fight 100 per cent to be able to race the Tour," he added.

"I realise that everyone is prepared and that will be very difficult, but as far as I can, I will fight again for the victory."

Contador, who also won the 2008 Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana, added: "I am very satisfied with the technical team because they are doing a very serious job and that is important for everyone.

"As for the riders, I think we will have a good team, not as powerful, especially in terms of names, as others racing the Tour, but I am confident about how we'll work and the great motivation we will have on the Tour."