Gourette, France - Michael Rasmussen of Denmark, who was the overall leader at the Tour de France, was removed from cycling’s most prestigious race on Wednesday after his team said he violated internal rules.
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According to French newspaper L’Equipe, Rasmussen’s Radobank team required him to leave the race after discovering he lied on his whereabouts during his training in June. The newspaper cited a Radobank spokesman as saying Rasmussen was not in Mexico, but later the team found out he was in Italy during a time when he reportedly missed random drug tests.
Rasmussen won Stage 16 of the race on Wednesday and extended his overall lead. Rasmussen used a late surge to finish the treacherous 218.5-kilometer trek up the Pyrenees in a time of six hours, 23 minutes and 21 seconds. Rasmussen earned his second stage win of this year’s Tour and had an overall lead of three minutes and 10 seconds over Spain’s Alberto Contador.
Because of Rasmussen’s departure, Contador will start Stage 17 with a one minute, 53-second lead on Australian Cadel Evans. American Levi Leipheimer will jump to third.
The announcement of Rasmussen’s dismissal was the third shocking piece of news in the last two days at the race. On Tuesday, it was revealed stage winner Alexandre Vinokourov of Kazakhstan tested positive for a banned blood transfusion, and his team, Astana, has withdrew from this year’s race as a result.
Earlier Wednesday, Cofidis became the second team in as many days to withdraw from the Tour de France because of a positive doping test for one of its riders. Italy’s Cristian Moreni, who was 54th overall, reportedly tested positive for testosterone following the 11th stage of the Tour last week.
This year’s Tour de France wraps up Sunday in Paris.
