Carlos Betancur’s departure from Ag2r-La Mondiale has been confirmed by both parties after the talented Colombian failed to return from home country on time to participate in his anticipated Tour de France debut and some misunderstandings between French squad and the rider were reported by his agent.

Betancur reportedly made his way back to Europe following his prolonged stint in Colombia, to participate in the Ag2r La Mondiale outfit at the Vuelta a Burgos and the Vuelta a Espana – his first races since an unsuccessful Ardennes classics campaign, but his departure from the French squad by the end of this season is already confirmed despite having signed a contract not to expire until the end of 2016.

A lingering illness and problems with acquiring a visa were most commonly cited explanations for prolonged stay in South America of the 24-year old Colombian, but Ag2r manager has earlier revealed that the team had had serious problems with contacting one of their key riders, while Betancur’s agent Giuseppe Acquadro suggested that cooperation between parties wasn’t perfect.

In such circumstances, the 24-year old Paris-Nice winner is still expected to line-up at the Vualta a Burgos and Vuelta a Espana, his sole grand our event of 2014 where he will target stage victories, but his future in professional cycling is up in the air at the moment.

Acquadro claimed that despite receiving signs of serious interest from several strong squads , they won’t rush with any decision in regards to Betancur’s future. However, speculations about the next destination of the 24-year old Colombian kicked off right after his departure from the French WorldTour team was announced, and Cyclingnews links him with Omega Pharma-Quick Step.

While it comes as no surprise that the Belgian team would be interested in signing young and promising puncheur excelling in both Ardennes classics and mountainous stage races, Betancur’s arrival to Omega could create a tricky internal rivalry with Michał Kwiatkowski already in the squad.

Nonetheless, a move of the 24-year old Colombian to OPQS is a pure speculation at the moment as the issue hasn’t been commented by any of the parties.

In the same time, according to Gazzetta dello Sport, Cannondale rider Fabio Sabattini is expected to join the Belgian squad in order to bolster a lead-out train of Mark Cavendish and support the leaders in spring classics.