Against floating rumors saying Luca Paolini and Alexander Kristoff will both leave Team Katusha at the end of season, Viatcheslav Ekimov, manager of Team Katusha, claims that he is not fazed because the classic duo have contracts with the team until the end of 2015.

"The information is incorrect, Paolini and Kristoff have contracts till the end of 2015 and will stay with us. We have never talked about any possible transfers," said Ekimov.

Previously, Belgian source Sportwereld reported that Paolini had agreed to join the Fernando Alonso team, which is scheduled to start racing from 2015 onwards. He was presumably contacted by Paolo Bettini, the manager of Team Alonso and a good friend of Paolini. According to the report, Kristoff is considering leaving Team Katusha, too.

Paolini, currently 37 years old, has been racing for Katusha since 2011 and won Omloop het Nieuwsblad in 2013. Kristoff notched his first monument victory this year, winning the prestigious Milan-Sanremo ahead of Fabian Cancellara and Ben Swift.

On the other hand, Team Alonso has been linked with many other riders such as Peter Sagan, Rinaldo Nocentini and Edvald Boasson Hagen. However, the team is yet to confirm its first rider for 2015. According to Bettini and Alonso, they will focus on riders whose contracts are expiring at the end of the season.