Kazakh rider Alexander Vinokourov will join the Liberty Seguros team next year to pursue his goal of winning the Tour de France.
Vinokourov said he could no longer ride in the shadow of 1997 Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich anymore and announced last week he would be leaving the German's T-Mobile team.
"My goal is clear, I want to win the Tour de France," Vinokourov told French sports daily L'Equipe on Tuesday.
"So I chose the team with the best arguments. It's the most organised and the most experienced team.
"They have the best riders in the mountains and are among the best in the team time trials. It was almost a natural choice."
Vinokourov, who was fifth overall in this year's Tour and won two stages including the last one on the Champs-Elysees, said all his efforts would be aimed at winning cycling's most prestigious prize.
"We have discussed my programme for 2006," the 31-year-old said. "I've had the guarantee I will be able to fully focus on the Tour de France."
