While previously indicating that he would instantly change teams in case Katusha failed to obtain status as a ProTour team, Rodriques, while awaiting the decision later this week by Court of Arbitration for Sport, CAS, hints that he might stay with Katusha despite his earlier statements to the contrary.

”The truth is that it’s not terribly important to ride for a ProTour team as long as I can ride all the races that we’ve planned to ride in our pre-season preparations. But evidently it would be nice for the team to return to the ”Premier League” of cycling,” said Rodriquez in an interview with Agencia Efe.

“I have received many offers from other teams, but I’ve always said that I wanted to stay with Katusha if we could solve all the problems. That’s why we’re currently awaiting the decision from CAS while hoping for the best.”