The world of international cycling increasingly resembles a buyer’s market as more and more riders are finding it difficult to land a contract with a team for the 2014 season.

The majority of riders, including Samuel Sanchez and Igor Anton, on the soon to be defunct Basque team Euskaltel-Euskadi are yet to find a team for the coming season, and the same goes for Vuelta a España winner Chris Horner who is also on the look-out for a team for next year.

Astana’s Kevin Seeldraeyers is the latest addition to the long list of riders in search of a team. Seeldraeyer’s best result of the 2013 season was two stage wins, the points and mountains classifications and third overall in the Tour of Austria. The 27-year-old said that he hopes to be able to continue his career, even though he acknowledged that chances are looking slim.

“I can’t do anything, the only thing I can do is to wait and see,” Seeldraeyers told Sporza. “It makes training difficult. I’m sitting here constantly thinking about it.”

Having spent five years with Omega Pharma-Quick Step, Seeldraeyers made a switch to Astana ahead of the 2012 season and has been with the Kazakh outfit since. Seeldraeyers first shone in 2009 when he was best young rider in both the Giro d’Italia and Paris-Nice, finishing seventh overall in the latter.

Despite taking third on a stage and second in the mountains classification at the Critérium du Dauphiné Seeldraeyers was subsequently passed over for a place in the Tour de France, going instead to the Tour of Austria where he once again displayed his potential. Third overall in that race was confirmation of his good form but, to his frustration, he was repeatedly neglected in subsequent team selections.

“Most teams are full but I’m still hopeful that there is still one that needs a rider. I don’t know why it is that some other riders still find a team at the last minute and I do not. I don’t understand it.  Maybe it is because I’ve been in the picture less with Astana than with other teams. Since my victory at the Tour of Austria in July I rode just three races, which may also be something to do with it. Maybe they have lost sight of me.”

Seeldraeyers said he had been in contact with other teams but that he had been told to wait and see if a place would become available. Lately Seeldraeyers has spent time in Spain training in order to maintain his fitness level. In the end. Seeldraeyers said, he might be forced to terminate his career.

“My contract expires in January,” he said. “If I don’t have anything by then I should probably give up, but until then I’ll continue to train. For the time being I don’t think of stopping. The longer it takes, the harder it gets. My manager is working on it.”