Johann Bruyneel, the team leader at Astana, is looking forward to reuniting with the seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong.
Bruyneel said he has already begun discussions with Armstrong, who is coming out of his three-year retirement to try to win an eighth Tour title in 2009.
"He won't have a problem finding a team, but it's clear that the relationship we have means that I can't allow him to go to another team. For me it would be nice to be a part of this," Bruyneel said at the Vuelta a Espana.
Despite their close relationship, Bruyneel said that Tuesday night was the first time he spoke with Armstrong about his comeback plans. Discussions with Armstrong about joining Astana are focused only on 2009, he said.
Although Bruyneel said sponsors and Astana directors must still give the green light, it sounds as if Armstrong is headed for a reunion with his former coach. The former Discovery Channel cyclist is ready to ride for free.
"It's my team, this is what I built, so there's no way I will quit it," Bruyneel said when asked if he would be ready to leave the Kazakh team to work elsewhere with Armstrong. Bruyneel is signed to Astana for another two years.
Bruyneel said Armstrong is coming back to promote the fight against cancer globally after doing "all he could" within the United States and did wonder if Armstrong's age - he is 37 - and a three-year lay-off from the sport would leave him at a disadvantage in his chase for an eighth Tour title.
However, he is confident that the addition of Armstrong would not cause any problems in the Astana team, which is led by Alberto Contador, the 2007 Tour champion.
"Alberto is the best rider at the moment, while Lance is on the comeback. These are things we will see about," said Bruyneel, who had no doubt that Armstrong would provide excellent support to the Spaniard at the Tour should he find himself out of contention.
"We have seen on other occasions he's a great teammate. I think it will be a relationship filled with a lot of mutual respect, but we'll see."
Contador called Armstrong's return "great news for cycling." Though the Spaniard would welcome the American rider with open arms, he spoke of the tricky situation that could arise next July at cycling's premier race.
"Sure, the two of us would like to win the Tour and some kind of complication could develop, but to arrive at that point would be a race in which different factors would come into play. For now, let's not think about those,"
Contador said.
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