Danish climber Michael Rasmussen has said that he is very disappointed with the news that he will not be part of the Saxo Bank set-up in 2011, having tried to gain a place on the ProTeam squad for a long time.
The double Tour de France King of the Mountains was not named on the final roster for the 2011 team which was released today. He had previously been contacted by team owner Bjarne Riis, who told him that he would not be given a place.
“It came as a bit of shock when I heard about it last night,” he told Sporten.tv2.dk. “I am extremely disappointed and very, very sad. I believed in it, and had really hoped to race for Bjarne's team.”
The Dane has been on the sidelines since being excluded from the 2007 Tour de France. He was in the yellow jersey and looked set to win the race, but was then expelled by his Rabobank team. It was under considerable pressure as Rasmussen had not told the truth about his whereabouts in the run-up to the race, breaking anti-doping rules.
He was handed a two year ban but the team, which was aware that he had not correctly disclosed his whereabouts, escaped punishment.
Rasmussen returned to cycling last summer and has raced since then for the small Tecos Trek and Miche teams. He contracted glandular fever earlier this year, costing him several months of competition, and was unsuccessful in his bid to earn a guest slot with another team for the Vuelta a España.
He has a personal sponsor which had agreed to cover his wages and with that backing by watch designer Christina Hembo, he had been negotiating with Riis to come on board. He said that he thought things would work out.
“The debate has been going on for a long time and I have enormous disappointment that it has not been completed. I feel that it was really close.”
He declined to comment about the reasons why he felt that he was not given a place, indicating only that there were sporting motives.
Rasmussen will now try to rebuild his morale and to find a place with another squad in time for the 2011 season. He wants to return to the sport and race well in the final few years of his career, even if it is in support of another rider in the Grand Tours. He had indicated that he was prepared to dedicate himself to Alberto Contador if necessary.
The latter’s future in the team is uncertain due to an ongoing investigation into his positive test for Clenbuterol.
Riis has not yet explained why he opted not to sign Rasmussen. Two weeks ago he indicated that it was still a possibility. “I don’t yet know what will happen, we will see shortly. I have different things to think about,” he told Politiken then. “I have in particular to think about how a decision to admit Michael Rasmussen to my team will be received.”
Tour de France organiser ASO said that it wouldn’t object if he was signed up. “There are no formal things that prevent Michael Rasmussen from participating in the Tour de France,” ASO spokesman Mathieu Desplats told Ekstra Bladet. “He has served his sentence and if there is a perception that he is not welcome, you must ask the UCI about the cause.”
The UCI has denied that he was put on a black list prior to his return to racing, although this has been contradicted by Professor Verner Moller, an academic who wrote a book on the Rasmussen affair.