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File this under: Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them.
In a statement released late on Wednesday evening, team sponsor Rabobank explained its reasons for the removal of Tour de France leader Michael Rasmussen and his subsequent dismissal by team management. Following immense media scrutiny in recent days, the bank confirmed that Rasmussen had indeed lied to the UCI about his whereabouts in June, training in Italy rather than in Mexico as he originally stated.
According to hln.be, former professional Davide Cassani, now a commentator for Italian TV station RAI, made a statement to Danish TV on Wednesday in which he claimed to have seen the Rabobank leader training in the Italian Dolomites on June 13 and 14. Rasmussen had previously declared that he was in Mexico from June 4 – 26. “When Rasmussen was confronted with this information he confirmed to [team manager] Theo de Rooy he was at that moment in Italy,” said Rabobank press officer Jacob Bergsma. “That was the reason De Rooy decided to get him out of the Tour and the team.”
Read the rest: cyclingnews.com
He was in Italy. Can’t imagine what he was doing there.
I guess the “men in black” story had something to it after all.
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With a Law degree and a visa he could be our next Attorney General.
He was probably in a travel trailer with a certain doctor.
Yeah, that doctor was Michele Ferrari. It’s a good thing Lance was never under suspicion, even though he was working with Ferrari.
Well it is only the biggest competitive cycling event on the planet. “Why not just destroy it.” It takes a huge sense of entitlement to pressume to damage so many in this our beloved sport. Millions of $$ will be lost and the sport as well as the industry will suffer. Who do these guys think they are? I am incensed by all of it. I know there are amatuers and masters who dope as well. You know who you are.
That big Yellow Chicken suit didn’t fool Davide Cassani.
Will lying about your whereabouts as per doping concerns via the UCI, net you a the same two year suspension as a doping violation?
Anybody know?
Fuck you Rasmussen! And what about the Versus extended coverage? Big Jon mentioned in the Forum how much better the live coverage is than the “extended coverage” in the evening.
The versus coverage is going on NOW as if nothing happened. This evening’s coverage is an extended recap of the stage TODAY. They are showing it, so far, as if nothing happened. They have the news crawler with the story, but I suppose at some point the commentators may actually address the fact the the person they are saying is riding and will win today is now fired by his team and is out of the race for CHEATING.
There is no bigger story than that. They should have pulled the regular “extended coverage” and should be talking about the new situation.
Maybe Versus is just worried about their ratings? It doesn’t seem they are much interested in the actual race.
Versus just isn’t quick enough for all the changing situations, I’m pretty sure it’ll be covered in depth tomorrow morning.
Man. To think I believed in this sport up ’til now. Like somebody else said, Fuck the Tour, I’m going riding.
I think it was pretty ballsy of Rabobank to pull the likely winner out of the tour of their own accord 4 days before Paris. The chicken shit was fired by Rabobank, he wasn’t kicked out of the tour. Dont get me wrong the pressure was coming, but they acted before they were forced, or even asked to. Kudos to Rabobank. guess I gotta go buy some socks or something.
I hope Rasmussen takes them to court and wins millions they had no right remove him after they had settled the missing issue prior to the tour. If they were so stuped then as to not ask him for proof of where he was prior to the tour then they shouldn’t give a F#$% were he was this late in the game he should take them to court for his lifetime loss and it should be for Millions.
Mike