If you give a report of the online portal VeloNews.com Believe it, reigning Vuelta champion Chris Horner could be on the verge of signing a deal with WorldTour team Lampre-Merida. Should that happen, the 42-year-old American could defend his Tour of Spain title and also lead the team in the Giro d'Italia, one of his stated goals for the 2014 season France, Horner would be the second man for the big tours in the team, which also includes other big calibers of the sport with the Italians Filippo Pozzato and Damiano Cunego.
"When I left Italy", said Lampre-Merida sports director Bruno Vicino on the sidelines of the Tour Down Under,"nothing was certain yet. I know there have been talks with Horner and arguably negotiations, but there is no official news yet. However, the team is interested in signing him.”
After the departure of the previous Giro leader Michele Scarponi to Astana, the change would make sense. After his victory in the Tour of Spain, Horner initially turned down an offer from the Trek Factory Racing Team and speculated on an engagement with the team of Formula 1 superstar Fernando Alonso. When this did not materialize, he had to continue his team search. He turned down a contract with the Danish third division company Christina Watches because the team is not allowed to compete in WorldTour races. Rumors that he would switch to the Spanish ProConti team Caja Rural also did not come true.