Rasmussen kicked out, dope web mires Tour

Rasmussen missed random drug tests on May 8 and June 28, saying he was in Mexico. But a former rider, Davide Cassani, told Denmark8217;s Danmarks Radio on Wednesday that he had seen Rasmussen in Italy in mid-June.

Only once before in the 104-year-old Tour has the race leader been expelled. In 1978, Belgian rider Michel Pollentier, trying to evade doping controls after winning a stage at the Alpe d8217;Huez in the Alps, was caught with an intricate tube-and-container system that contained urine that was not his, said Tour historian Jean-Paul Brouchon.

Rasmussen, the leader since July 15, could not be reached for comment late Wednesday. 8220;I have no idea what I should do or where I will go,8221; he told Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad. 8220;This is an enormous blow for me, and also for all the guys from the Rabo team. They8217;re devastated.8221;

Just hours before he was removed from the Tour, the 33-year-old Dane spoke to The AP 8212; after a doping control following his win in stage 16 8212; and said he was being victimised.

8220;Of course I8217;m clean,8221; Rasmussen said. 8220;Like I said, I8217;ve been tested 17 times now in less than two weeks. Both the peleton and the public, they8217;re just taking their frustration out on me now. I mean, all I can say is that by now I had my test number 17 on this Tour and all of those have come back negative. I don8217;t feel I can do any more than that.8221;

But as Rasmussen crept toward what would have been his first Tour victory, race directors repeatedly said he never should have been allowed to take the start on July 7 in London, England. 8220;We cannot say that Rasmussen cheated, but his flippancy and his lies on his whereabouts had become unbearable,8221; said Tour director Christian Prudhomme told, reacting to Rasmussen8217;s withdrawal.

The head of cycling8217;s governing body applauded the decision. 8220;My immediate reaction is, why didn8217;t they do this at the end of June, when they had the same information?8221; International Cycling Union president Pat McQuaid told The AP.

8220;The team decided to pull him out 8212; that8217;s their prerogative. I can only applaud that. It8217;s a zero-tolerance policy and it8217;s a lesson for the future.8221;

With Rasmussen out, Spanish rider Alberto Contador of the Discovery Channel moves into the race lead. Australian Cadel Evans, who rides for Predictor-Lotto, moves up to second, with US rider Levi Leipheimer, also with Discovery, now third.

Press proclaims 8216;death8217; of Tour

Gourette: One French newspaper proclaimed the dope-tainted Tour de France 8220;dead8221; on Thursday and urged organisers to cancel the event, a day after race leader Michael Rasmussen was ousted by his team.

8220;The Tour must be stopped,8221; Liberation newspaper wrote in its editorial. 8220;This procession of cyclists has been transformed into a caravan of ridicule. If the organisers really want to save cycling, they should stop the competition and declare a pause of a few years, enough time to treat these athletes-turned-druggies.8221;

Liberation8217;s headline read: 8220;The death of the Tour.8221; L8217;Equipe sports daily, by contrast, said the blow was an opportunity for

organisers to clean up the Tour de France 8212; 8220;but the Tour must seize it quickly.8221;

With France reeling from the multiple scandals, even the French prime minister weighed in.

8220;Obviously this gives a disastrous image of the Tour de France, but at the same time, if we encourage the organisers, we can clean up French sports and in particular cycling,8221; Francois Fillon told RTL radio.

Christian Prudhomme, the Tour8217;s director, told Le Parisien newspaper: 8220;You can8217;t mock the Tour de France with impunity.8221;

Jean-Francois Lamour, vice president of the World Anti-Doping Agency, suggested on Wednesday that the sport should be withdrawn from the Olympics. German public broadcasters have stopped airing the race, and one of Switzerland8217;s biggest newspapers stopped writing about it. The daily Tages Anzeiger said on its website on Wednesday it will limit its coverage to results and doping stories.

Fans booed Rasmussen at the start of Wednesday8217;s stage, and mostly French teams staged a protest to express disgust at the doping scandals that have left cycling8217;s credibility in tatters. Some riders were forced to lift up their bicycles to get around their protesting colleagues, who eventually raced. But the message was sent. The demonstration caused a 13-minute delay. 8220;We8217;re fed up,8221; AG2R rider Ludovic Turpin of France said.