Leo König has shone so far in this Tour de France, in seventh place with only five more stages to go. Added to his top ten finish in the Vuelta a Espana last year, it looks likely that he will leave ProConti Team NetApp-Endura for the top ranks next year.
His contract ends this year, and his agent "is talking to four ProTour teams," König told idnez.cz. "He is making it clear that I don't mind sometimes working as a top domestique for a Roman Kreuziger or Richie Porte, but would also want to be leader in several races."
Ralph Denk, manager of the NetApp team which next year will be Team Bora, realized that it will be difficult to retain the 26-year-old Czech, and said that "We will talk the night we arrive in Paris."
König must also "sit and think about what I want."
Football meets cycling
Two sports met on Tuesday, as former Dutch footballer Mark van Bommel met with Dutch team Giant-Shimano. German rider John Degenkolb enjoyed the visit from a representative of his nation's football rival.
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"He is really a very impressive personality. And yes, he said that we played really well at the World Cup," Degenkolb wrote on his personal website.
Van Bommel played for Geman team Bayern München for six years and "still has contact to some Bayern players like Bastian Schweinsteiger, for example. After winning the finale he sent Schweinsteiger a text message and he responded with a photo of the trophy and the message: 'You would have liked to have won that four years ago, huh?'"
"We talked for about 15 minutes and it was a good time. It is great that a football player is a guest by a cycling team!"
