CYCLING:"Trust me," Michael Rasmussen almost pleaded to a press conference not long after taking the yellow jersey in the Alps, and yesterday trust in the maillot jaune was at the heart of the latest doping storm to hit the Tour as the Pyrenean stages drew near.
Rasmussen refused to comment on an allegation an artificial form of haemoglobin - which can increase red cells - was found in a box being delivered to him by a US cyclist, Whitney Richards, in 2002.
"I cannot confirm any of that. I know his name, yeah," he said after yesterday's stage.
There was also some doubt about how many times the Tour de France leader had failed to clarify his whereabouts for out-of-competition testing. The Danish Cycling Federation announced late on Thursday night it would not be selecting the little climber for the world road-race championships or Olympics because he had failed to give his whereabouts for two out-of-competition tests in May and June.
"One warning is one too many," said the federation's president, Tom Lund, yesterday, adding the proviso: "We do not suspect him of doping. We have ethical rules that everyone must respect and we do not feel Michael's behaviour meets that standard."
The International Cycling Union said yesterday that while it respected the DCF's position, Rasmussen could not be stopped from competing. A further failure to reveal his whereabouts would result in disciplinary proceedings.
Rasmussen said yesterday he had received two warnings from the ICU, one in March 2006.
"I forgot to send in my second quota of information and they issued a warning on March 24." The second warning, he said, came on "29 or 26 June this year" and was followed by a further warning.
The confusion may lie here as, according to Rasmussen, the DCF and ICU share a database, and the episode should count as a single "strike". He terminated his press conference without speaking about the episode on May 8th referred to by the Danish federation.
Yesterday, when the Tour de France director, Christian Prudhomme, said he would make an announcement before the stage began, the speculation was that Rasmussen might not be permitted to start but instead Prudhomme had the air of a man frustrated by events beyond his control. He said Rasmussen had missed out-of-competition tests on May 8th and June 28th. Three infringements would be considered equal to a positive test, so Rasmussen was not considered to have done anything wrong.
Rasmussen had been blood-tested twice before the Tour, said Prudhomme. All three tests were negative. As the rider in the yellow jersey, he had been urine tested on July 15th, 17th, 18th and 19th. Results for those tests are not yet available.
The managers of French teams were particularly critical of the Dane. Jean-Rene Bernaudeau of Bouygues Telecom said a rider in Rasmussen's situation in his team would not be allowed to race, and Marc Madiot of La Française des Jeux described the Dane's actions as "more than questionable".
Meanwhile, "whereabouts" has suddenly become the issue of the moment on the Tour and this weekend is not the time for anyone who wants to win the race to go missing. The bigger picture on this Tour is opaque to say the least, though the question of who will win the race may become clearer by tomorrow night after the first long time trial and the first mountain-top finish in the Pyrenees.
The race is finely poised. While Rasmussen has a 155-second advantage over Alejandro Valverde, the next seven riders are spanned by just 1min 18sec.
Of those seven, most are less than magnificent time triallists; today, the best in a contre la montre should be Andreas Kloden - his dodgy coccyx is apparently improving - and Cadel Evans, who lie seventh and fourth respectively.
Tomorrow, the race heads south over the narrow, spectacular pass of the Port de Pailheres for a summit finish at Plateau de Beille. Both are rated super-category climbs and the transition from churning a massive gear today to spinning a tiny ratio tomorrow will be abrupt, to say the least.
Yesterday, the transition from the Mediterranean to the hills east of Toulouse was a relatively gentle matter. David Millar again figured in an abortive early escape and the final half of the stage through orchards and vineyards belonged to a Basque, Amets Txurruka, and the former French champion Pierrick Fedrigo.
As usual, the breakaway riders were given enough latitude to hope but not enough to survive. The peloton swooped with 500 metres remaining to the line and Tom Boonen took his second sprint finish of the Tour.
The fast men will not be seen again until the race leaves the Pyrenees on Thursday, by which time their ranks may well have thinned out if the mountains take their toll.
Guardian Service
