Andre Greipel and the Alcare Samsic team have announced that they have terminated their contract for 2020, with the 37-year-old German sprinter avoiding talk of retirement, saying only that he will announce his 2020 cycling season in November after spending the vacations with his family.

Greipel will ride for the last time in the white and black colors of Arkea Samsic at the one-day Sparkassen-Munsterland Giro in Germany on Wednesday.

After nine years with Lotto Soudal, he joins the French Professional Continental team for the 2019 season. He took a stage win in the La Tropicale Amissa Bongo race in Africa early in the season, but struggled to be competitive in sprints for the remainder of the 2019 season.

While announcing his termination with the team, Greipel also revealed that he had been suffering from a bacterial illness for several months prior to the Tour de France.

"About four weeks ago, I offered the team management to terminate my contract towards the end of this year. Emmanuel Hubert and the team management agreed to this request and I am very grateful for their cooperation in 2019," Greipel said via his personal website and the Arkea Samsic team website.

"I wanted to extend my season statistics, but I was not optimally prepared for the highlights of the season. In the first half of the season I had to fight a bacterial disease for several months and once I was 100% cured, unfortunately two weeks before the Tour de France.

"The Sparkassen-Munsterland Giro on October 3 is the last race of the 2019 season and the last race for Team Arkea Samsic. Getting to the start in Germany is always a special event for the German athletes. Of course, we will be well prepared to achieve top results in this last race. After this I will go into recovery and a family vacation."

Greipel would not say whether he would continue racing in 2020 or talk about retirement, postponing the announcement until November.

"Until the beginning of November, my social media accounts will remain silent and I will not be able to respond to media requests; during the week of November 4-10, I will announce about the 2020 cycling season."

He concluded with a word of thanks.

"Dear fellow cyclists and dear fans: I cannot thank you enough for your understanding and continued support."

Greipel's record includes 156 victories, most of them sprint finishes. He has 11 wins in the Tour de France and seven in the Giro d'Italia. He has also won 18 stages of the Tour Down Under and twice won the overall at the opening round of the World Tour

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He turned pro with Team Wiesenhoff in 2005, but soon stepped up to the World Tour level with T-Mobile. In 2008, while with Team Colombia, he emerged as one of the best sprinters in the world.

Emmanuel Hubert, team manager of Arkea Samsic, revealed that Greipel did not oppose his request to end his time with the team a year early. The team will remain a professional continental team in 2020, with plans to earn wildcards to the 2020 Tour de France and other major races. Warren Barguil will stay on and Nairo Quintana, his brother Deyer, Winner Anacona, and Diego Rosa will bolster the team's roster.

"We are disappointed with Andre's performance this season. Our results are not satisfactory," Hubert said.

"I am not opposed to terminating his contract because it was an option. It does not take away from his human qualities, which were highly valued in the team, or the experience he brought to the team. Personally, I met a great champion and a good human being. I wish him all the best in his future endeavors."