Fédrigo wants out of Bbox Bouygues Telecom
Frenchman wants to leave squad after it was denied ProTour licence renewal
Frenchman Pierrick Fédrigo wants to leave Bbox Bouygues Telecom after the team failed to receive a renewal of its ProTour licence for 2010, according to L'Equipe.
"I also have to think about me and my ambitions to race at a highest level," Fédrigo said.
France's Bbox Bouygues Telecom has had a ProTour, or top-level, licence since the inception of the ranking system in 2005. Its current licence runs through the end of this year, but it received official notice yesterday from the International Cycling Union (UCI) that it had failed to meet renewal requirements. The decision will force Bbox Bouygues to race 2010 at the Professional Continental level, or second level.
"There is no [chance] that I am racing in a Pro Continental team," said Fédrigo.
Fédrigo and Thomas Voeckler are Bbox Bouygues Telecom best-known riders. Between them they have been responsible for eight of the team's 13 race victories this season, with Fédrigo taking three wins. Each won a stage of this year's Tour de France.
He joined the team in 2005 and still has a contract for 2010. He expects problems leaving the team of Jean-René Bernaudeau, who Fédrigo said is "not prepared to negotiate anything."
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