November 13, 2007 (Utrecht, Netherlands) – Rabobank released an independent report that supported the team’s decision to kick Michael Rasmussen out of the 2007 Tour de France. The report, chaired by former Utrecht police chief Peter Vogelzang, actually went further and suggested Rasmussen “should not have been allowed to start in the Tour” reports AP. The report underlined how Rasmussen missed random doping tests in May and June and also lied to the UCI about his whereabouts prior to the 2007 TdF. Both Rabobank and the UCI were criticized in the report for not taking stronger and prompter actions. Theo de Rooij, Rabobank cycling team director, who was singled out for criticism, quit after the Tour. De Rooij was involved with the team from its inception in 1995 and became director in 2004. For the full story click here.

Meanwhile, charges were published yesterday in the German weekly magazine Focus that Rudy Pevenage knew Jan Ullrich was using erythropoietin (EPO) when he won the 1997 TdF according to an AFP report. A similar report by UPI mentions both EPO and growth hormones. Pevenage was the ex-boss of Ullrich’s team, Deutsche Telekom (now T-Mobile). These charges are made by former team soigneur Jef d’Hont. D’Hont further claims that Pevenage justified Ullrich’s doping, asserting all other cyclists were also doping. For more on this story click here.

In other related news, former Vuelta winner, Roberto Heras (formerly Liberty Seguros-Würth) now declares he will not return to professional cycling after purging a two-year suspension for EPO according to Reuters. He told the Spanish daily El Pais on Sunday that, despite offers from various teams, he didn’t want to go back to the “negative atmosphere” and divisions in pro cycling. Heras tested positive for EPO during the 2005 Vuelta where he was poised for a fourth win. Heras also rode for US Postal Service from 2001 to 2003 where he was a team mate of Lance Armstrong. More on this story here.