screaming fist said:
Why wouldn't he accept less/close to no salary? Signing a deal for the rest of the year with e.g. Lampre might be his only chance to ride the Tour. 2016 is another story.
I can think of around 4 millions reasons. If he has to leave Astana, then he's not going to get close to that salary again. He may be happy to write off a year, take the money, and move teams in the winter.
Hopefully not, as it would be a shame not to have the defending champ at the Tour. In any case though, I'd be surprised if he wasn't there with Astana.