The Dane has said he lied because he didn’t want his wife to know his whereabouts at the time, the strong inference being that he was with another woman.
Rasmussen was thrown off the 2007 Tour by his team Rabobank – under huge pressure from the Tour organisers ASO – when leading after the final mountain stage towards the end of the third week because he repeatedly declined to offer and adequate explanation as to three missed tests during the build up to the three-week stage race.
In defending himself Rasmussen had always claimed to have been in Mexico, his wife’s home country, preparing for the race, while all the time he was in Italy where there were a number of reported sightings of him training in his distinctive all black training outfit near Lake Garda where he has a home.
When the “false information’” as he called it came to light, Rabobank removed him from the Tour and he was subsequently banned for two years, the same ban he would have received if he had tested positive.
Rasmussen hired lawyers to fight the band but was unsuccessful in getting it overturned.