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Updated at 1:26 a.m., Friday, September 5, 2008

Cycling: Tour de France winner quits Team CSC

By Christian Wienberg
Bloomberg News Service

Carlos Sastre, who won this year's Tour de France, is quitting Team CSC Saxo Bank after seven years to join the newly formed Cervelo Test team.

Sastre and CSC Saxo Bank's sports director Bjarne Riis couldn't agree on terms to extend their contract which expires at the end of this year, the Lyngby, Denmark-based team said today on its Web site.

"I will now seek new motivation and new opportunities," Sastre said in the statement. "It's been seven unforgettable years at this team and there've been fantastic moments."

Sastre, 33, beat Australia's Cadel Evans by 58 seconds to win the 2008 Tour after having finished third in 2006 and fourth last year. Sastre also won two Tour de France stages during his 10-year professional career, including this year's race to the top of L'Alpe d'Huez, as well as one stage in Spain's Vuelta Espana.

"I would obviously have liked to keep Carlos, but I respect that he has goals he wants to accomplish at this new team," Riis said. CSC Saxo Bank, which won this year's team competition in the Tour, will now focus on its other riders which include Luxembourg brothers Andy Schleck and Frank Schleck.