July 26, 2007 (Gourette, France) – In a statement issued by Rabobank they dismissed Michael Rasmussen as he claimed to be in Mexico to explain his whereabouts from June 4-26 but in fact he was in Italy reports AP. (click here for Rabobank release).

Rasmussen was apparently seen training in Italy by Davide Cassani, a former pro now with Italian TV station RAI according to Belgian web site hln.be. Rabobank’s press officer Jacob Bergsma confirmed this, “When Rasmussen was confronted with this information he confirmed to Theo de Rooy (Rabobank team manager) he was at that moment in Italy. That was the reason De Rooy decided to get him out of the Tour and the team.”

“We cannot say that Rasmussen cheated, but his flippancy and his lies on his whereabouts had become unbearable,” said TdF director Christian Prudhomme to AP.

“My immediate reaction is, why didn’t they do this at the end of June, when they had the same information,” UCI President Pat McQuaid told AP. “The team decided to pull him out – that’s their prerogative. I can only applaud that. It’s a zero-tolerance policy and it’s a lesson for the future.”

Rabobank will continue to sponsor the team which is not leaving the Tour and riders will decide on Thursday morning whether to start Stage 17.

Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Discovery is the new Tour leader with Cadel Evans (Aus) Predictor-Lotto in second and Levi Leipheimer (US) Discovery in third.