[James]

I'm interested in cycling and follow the Tour. Just heard this story.

Leader Rasmussen kicked off Tour

Race leader Michael Rasmussen has been kicked out of the Tour de France and sacked by his Rabobank team.

The 33-year-old Dane has been at the centre of controversy during the Tour since it was revealed he missed out-of-competition drugs tests.

Rasmussen looked odds-on to win the Tour on Sunday after taking Wednesday's stage, which increased his lead over second-placed rider Alberto Contador.

But Rabobank have learnt he lied to them about his whereabouts in June.

Young Spaniard Contador now assumes the race lead with four days remaining.

And the Discovery Channel rider will go into Thursday's flat stage from Pau to Castelsarrasin with an advantage of one minute 57 seconds over Australian Cadel Evans.

Contador's team-mate Levi Leipheimer, who finished stage 16 second to Rasmussen, is now third, two minutes 49 seconds off top spot.

Rasmussen's sacking follows the high-profile positive drugs test on pre-race favourite Alexandre Vinokourov in a dramatic 24 hours for the Tour.


Rasmussen's flippancy and his lies on his whereabouts had become unbearable


Vinokourov's Astana team were asked to withdraw from the race and Cofidis have also pulled out following the positive test on their rider, Cristian Moreni.

Rasmussen admitted making a mistake in missing out-of-competition drugs tests but insisted he backed moves to make cycling drug-free.

"I'm sorry the situation is coming out now, when I'm wearing the yellow jersey, and it's harming the sport that I dearly love," he said before his 16th stage win.

"I want to make absolutely clear I've had out-of-competition tests prior to the Tour de France, 14 tests during the Tour and all the results are negative.

"I do support my team in the fight against doping and [for] a clean sport."

As part of Tour de France policy, the race leader is tested after each stage and Rasmussen has worn yellow since his breakaway win in Tignes last Sunday.

And Wednesday's victory on the Col d'Aubisque seemed to tightened his grip on the yellow jersey.


But Rabobank have since discovered that Rasmussen lied to them over where and what he was up to during the month of June, when he was in fact in Italy and not in Mexico as he had told them.

"Michael Rasmussen has been sent home for violating the team's internal rules," confirmed a Rabobank spokesman.

It remains unclear whether the team will continue riding or pull out as Astana and Cofidis have.

The Danish Cycling Union said last week Rasmussen had been warned for missing two random controls earlier this year and banned him from September's world championships and the 2008 Olympic Games.

It later emerged he had already been warned twice by the International Cycling Union (UCI) for missing two separate random tests in the past 18 months.

Rabobank manager Theo de Rooy said he was aware of the missed tests and revealed he fined Rasmussen 10,000 Euros (£6,720).

"I informed the UCI about the missed tests prior to the Tour de France, and UCI president Pat McQuaid has said that they could not prevent Michael Rasmussen from racing on the Tour," said De Rooy.

"For me, there is no case to answer."


However, De Rooy has now taken the ultimate action after new information came to light about Rasmussen's whereabouts that made a mockery of the rider's claim he simply made an "administrative error".

McQuaid said: "My immediate reaction is why didn't they do this at the end of June, when they had the same information?

"The team decided to pull him out - that's their prerogative. I can only applaud that. It's a zero-tolerance policy and it's a lesson for the future."

Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme said: "The important thing is not that he has been sacked by his team but that he will not be at the start of the stage tomorrow.

"We cannot say that Rasmussen cheated, but his flippancy and his lies on his whereabouts had become unbearable.

"I at the very least do not feel that I have been dishonoured.

"One cannot mock the Tour de France impunitively like those riders," he added, referring to Rasmussen, Moreni and Vinokourov.

T-Mobile rider Patrick Sinkewitz crashed out of the race in stage eight days before he was revealed to have failed a drug test in training before the race began.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/othe...ng/6916698.stm