Michael Rasmussen (cyclist)
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Michael Rasmussen (born 1 June 1974) is a retired Danish professional cyclist who competed in road racing and mountain biking. His most notable victories include four stages of the Tour de France (shared Danish record), one stage of the Vuelta a España and a win on the Italian classic Giro dell'Emilia in 2002. He also won the best climber classification in the
2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
and
2006 Tour de France The 2006 Tour de France was the 93rd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between the 1st and the 23rd of July. It was won by Óscar Pereiro following the disqualification of Floyd Landis. Due to the Unite ...
. Specializing in climbing, Rasmussen showed a propensity for attempting spectacular wins in mountain stages in which he broke away from the peloton early and rode alone for most of the stage. Michael Rasmussen was known for his care for detail when considering weight. With a low weight (60 kg) he was usually one of the lightest riders in his class. In the
2007 Tour de France The 2007 Tour de France the 94th running of the race, took place from 7 to 29 July. The Tour began with a prologue in London, and ended with the traditional finish in Paris. Along the way, the route also passed through Belgium and Spain. It was ...
, Rasmussen while wearing the yellow jersey and well on his way to winning the Tour, had his contract terminated by his team and was removed from the Tour. He served a two-year ban from July 2007 to July 2009 for lying about his whereabouts. At a press conference on 31 January 2013, Rasmussen admitted that he had used performance-enhancing drugs and methods, including EPO, growth hormones,
insulin Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the ''INS'' gene. It is considered to be the main anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabolism o ...
, testosterone, DHEA,
IGF-1 Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), also called somatomedin C, is a hormone similar in molecular structure to insulin which plays an important role in childhood growth, and has anabolic effects in adults. IGF-1 is a protein that in humans is ...
,
Oxyglobin A blood substitute (also called artificial blood or blood surrogate) is a substance used to mimic and fulfill some functions of biological blood. It aims to provide an alternative to blood transfusion, which is transferring blood or blood-based ...
, cortisone and blood doping, for most of his professional career.


Biography

Rasmussen began his career as a
mountain bike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which ...
r, and he won the
Mountain Bike World Championships The UCI Mountain Bike World Championships are the world championship events for mountain bike racing in the disciplines of cross country, downhill, and four-cross. They are organized by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the governing b ...
in 1999 before becoming a
stagiaire Stagiaire may refer to: * Stage (cooking) or stagiaire, a cook who works briefly, for free, in another chef's kitchen * Stagiaire (cycling), an amateur cyclist temporarily riding for a professional team * A particular type of trainee, see Europea ...
with the professional
cycling team A cycling team is a group of cycle sport, cyclists who join a team or are acquired and train together to compete in bicycle racing, bicycle races whether amateur or professional – and the supporting personnel. Cycling teams are most important i ...
in 2001. There he secured a one-year contract for 2002, and following a string of good results in August and September, including his first professional win, he switched from CSC-Tiscali to in 2003. After being sacked by Rabobank in the
2007 Tour de France The 2007 Tour de France the 94th running of the race, took place from 7 to 29 July. The Tour began with a prologue in London, and ended with the traditional finish in Paris. Along the way, the route also passed through Belgium and Spain. It was ...
, Rasmussen got a contract offer from . The team's manager then decided that the move would be too expensive and thus Rasmussen was without contract.


Tour de France history


2004

His first Tour de France was in
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
, in which he failed to get any stage wins but was third in the
mountains classification The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a femal ...
, which was won by Richard Virenque. Rasmussen then agreed with his team that he could train alone and focus on the Tour de France for 2005.


2005

At the
2005 Tour de France The 2005 Tour de France was the 92nd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between 2–24 July, with 21 stages covering a distance . It has no overall winner—although American cyclist Lance Armstrong origin ...
his training paid off when he took the polka dot jersey as leader of the
mountains classification The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a femal ...
on stage eight. The next day he won stage nine after riding alone for three-quarters of the course; he had broken away after 3 km and stayed clear to the finish 168 km later. He led over the first category 1 climb, the
Ballon d'Alsace The Ballon d'Alsace german: Elsässer Belchen (el. 1247 m.), sometimes also called the Alsatian Belchen to distinguish it from other mountains named " Belchen" is a mountain at the border of Alsace, Lorraine, and Franche-Comté. From its top, vi ...
. In the penultimate stage (Stage 20), an individual time trial, he lost his third place after a fall at 4 km, then two bike changes, two wheel changes and a crash into a ditch. After his first fall, he lost confidence and his ability to descend at speed, according to Rabobank's sports director Erik Breukink. Rasmussen finished 77th that day and dropped from 3rd to 7th on the GC. However he needed only to finish the final stage the next day to assure his status as King of the Mountains. Rasmussen rode much of the next day alone, saying he needed to clear his mind after the day before. After becoming king of the mountains, Rasmussen wore not only the polka dot jersey, but polka dot helmet, shorts, gloves, and socks. For the final stage, he rode a polka dot bike made by
Ernesto Colnago Ernesto Colnago (born 9 February 1932) is an Italian entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally ...
, founder of the
Colnago Colnago Ernesto & C. S.r.l. or Colnago is a manufacturer of high quality road-racing bicycles founded by Ernesto Colnago near Milano in Cambiago, Italy. It remained a family-controlled firm until May 4, 2020, when it was announced that the UAE-b ...
company.


2006

In the
2006 Tour de France The 2006 Tour de France was the 93rd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between the 1st and the 23rd of July. It was won by Óscar Pereiro following the disqualification of Floyd Landis. Due to the Unite ...
, he finished well overall but he was not team leader; that honour went to the Russian, Denis Menchov. Rasmussen won the mountains classification for the second year and claimed stage 16 in the process. On Stage 16 he broke away after 4 km and took the
Souvenir Henri Desgrange The Souvenir Henri Desgrange is an award and cash prize given in the yearly running of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tour races. It is won by the rider that crosses a particular point in the race, mostly the summits of the highest a ...
on the
Col du Galibier The Col du Galibier (el. ) is a mountain pass in the southern region of the French Dauphiné Alps near Grenoble. It is the eighth highest paved road in the Alps, and recurrently the highest point of the Tour de France. It connects Saint-M ...
(2645 m), winning 5000 euros. He led over all the climbs and won stage 16 by more than a minute on Carlos Sastre of . In Paris he wore the polka dot jersey as leader of the
mountains classification The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a femal ...
while holding his newly born child, who was in a polka-dot shirt and cap.


2007

In the
2007 Tour de France The 2007 Tour de France the 94th running of the race, took place from 7 to 29 July. The Tour began with a prologue in London, and ended with the traditional finish in Paris. Along the way, the route also passed through Belgium and Spain. It was ...
he won the 8th stage from Le Grand-Bornand to Tignes, taking the lead in the general classification and the
mountains classification The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a femal ...
. On 25 July, he held a 3:10 lead on Alberto Contador, who was in second place for the yellow jersey. With four stages remaining, this made him favourite for the yellow jersey in Paris. That evening however, he was withdrawn from the race and fired by his team Rabobank for "violating internal rules". Davide Cassani, an Italian retired professional rider, reported that he had seen Rasmussen in Italy in June 2007, a time when Rasmussen claimed to have been training in Mexico. The accusations were denied.


Controversy


Unavailability for doping controls

Rasmussen was the center of controversy while wearing the yellow jersey in the
2007 Tour de France The 2007 Tour de France the 94th running of the race, took place from 7 to 29 July. The Tour began with a prologue in London, and ended with the traditional finish in Paris. Along the way, the route also passed through Belgium and Spain. It was ...
, when it was announced that he had been suspended from the Danish national cycling team at UCI World Championships and Olympic Games following missed doping controls. Rasmussen failed to report his whereabouts for a three-week training session in Mexico and was unavailable for testing during that period; for that he received a recorded warning from the UCI. Counting these missed tests together, the Danish cycling union decided to ban Rasmussen. Rasmussen said: "I do admit that I've committed an administrative error. I was informed of this at the Danish championship two and a half weeks ago, so it's no news... It might be a surprise that it comes out right now." The timing of the announcement led to speculation by
Patrice Clerc Patrice Clerc (born 12 May 1949, in Neuilly-sur-Seine) is a past president of the Amaury Sport Organisation which promotes a number of professional cycling events including the Tour de France. Previously, Clerc served as president and tournament d ...
, then chief of the Amaury Sport Organisation, which organises the Tour de France, that the UCI had leaked the news in the middle of the Tour to damage it, as part of a dispute between the two organisations over the running of the UCI ProTour. This was rejected by the UCI president
Pat McQuaid Patrick "Pat" McQuaid (born 5 September 1949 in Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish road racing cyclist. He had a strong amateur career and a brief professional period, before moving into race promotion and administration in Ireland and globally, s ...
, who said the timing was the choice of the Danish cycling union.


Alleged doping in 2002

According to a multiple sourced VeloNews article published on 20 July 2007, mountain bike racer
Whitney Richards Whitney may refer to: Film and television * ''Whitney'' (2015 film), a Whitney Houston biopic starring Yaya DaCosta * ''Whitney'' (2018 film), a documentary about Whitney Houston * ''Whitney'' (TV series), an American sitcom that premiered i ...
accused Rasmussen of trying to get him to transport a box, which Rasmussen had told Richards contained his favourite cycling shoes, to his training base in Italy in early 2002. Richards alleged that the box contained packets of
Hemopure A blood substitute (also called artificial blood or blood surrogate) is a substance used to mimic and fulfill some functions of biological blood. It aims to provide an alternative to blood transfusion, which is transferring blood or blood-based ...
, a bovine-hemoglobin-based blood substitute which is not currently approved for human use outside South Africa and did not become commercially available there until January 2006, and which might potentially have been used in a doping program. At the time there was no screening test for Hemopure; it is, however, banned by the WADA. Richards said he destroyed the Hemopure, at which Rasmussen is said to have grown angry and said to Richards "Have you any idea how much that shit cost?" A second journalist confirmed that Richards had related the same story to him over two years ago, off the record, and claims that the incident is the one described in the epilogue of journalist David Walsh's recent book ''From Lance to Landis''. Rasmussen had declined to comment on the story, saying only, "I cannot confirm any of that."


Removal from the 2007 Tour

On 25 July 2007, Rasmussen won stage 16 of the
2007 Tour de France The 2007 Tour de France the 94th running of the race, took place from 7 to 29 July. The Tour began with a prologue in London, and ended with the traditional finish in Paris. Along the way, the route also passed through Belgium and Spain. It was ...
. He had led the general classification (overall lead) since winning Stage 8, and with a lead of over three minutes over second-place Alberto Contador, he was all but assured of winning. However, hours after his win, Rabobank abruptly fired him and removed him from the race. Previously, an Italian cycling commentator for RAI and former professional road bicycle racer, Davide Cassani, telling a story about Rasmussen's intense preparations for the Tour, stated he had seen Rasmussen in the Italian Dolomites on 13 June 2007, cycling in the rain. According to the schedule Rasmussen submitted to the UCI, he should have been in Mexico at that time. When confronted with this accusation, according to initial press reports, Rasmussen admitted the facts to his team leader, which resulted in Rasmussen's removal from the team and the Tour. Rasmussen himself later first denied that he had admitted any such thing, stating that Rabobank manager Theo de Rooij "was a desperate man on the verge of a nervous breakdown," but later admitted lying about his whereabouts. Two days later on 27 July it was reported, that Theo de Rooij had resigned, effective once the tour was over. Rasmussen's in-laws later confirmed to the Danish newspaper BT that he had visited them in Mexico, but that they did not know where exactly he had been on 13 and 14 June 2007. Rabobank backed the decision to withdraw Rasmussen but reconfirmed its commitment as a sponsor in cycling, at least at the local level. On 17 December 2007, the Dutch law firm BrantjesVeerman confirmed Rasmussen had hired it to fight his dismissal from Rabobank. On 1 July 2008 the Monaco Cycling Federation, which holds Rasmussen's racing license, announced that he was banned from the sport for two years from his exclusion from the Tour de France; the ban ended on 25 July 2009. Rasmussen appealed the ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which upheld the ban on 22 January 2009.


2009 return

Rasmussen's suspension expired on 25 July 2009, and he took part in the Designa Grand Prix in
Kjellerup Kjellerup is a Danish town with a population of 5,223 (1 January 2023).Denmark two days later, finishing in second place. Later that season, he won the opening stage, a time trial, and was race leader for three days, in the Mexico's
Vuelta a Chihuahua Vuelta Chihuahua Internacional (Vuelta a Chihuahua) was a stage race held annually in October in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. The Vuelta a Chihuahua was first contested in 2005, as part of the UCI America Tour schedule, and was run over seven ...
, as a member of Team Tecos Trek. The following season, he signed for the Italian Continental ranked team, Miche Silver Cross. On 30 July 2010 Michael Rasmussen got a personal sponsor in Christina Design London. On 9 December 2010, Rasmussen and Christina Design owner
Christina Hembo Christina Hembo (born 9 January 1978) is a Danish Jewelry and watch designer and entrepreneur, who owns the company CHRISTINA Design London and formerly owned the Danish cycling team Christina Watches–Dana. She designs high quality Jewelry and ...
presented their new team . Hembo received a UCI Continental licence and announced the goal to become a UCI Pro Tour team by 2016.


Doping admission

On 31 January 2013, he admitted to the use of performance-enhancing drugs from 1998 to 2010 during a press conference. He stated that he used EPO, growth hormone, testosterone, DHEA,
insulin Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the ''INS'' gene. It is considered to be the main anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabolism o ...
,
IGF-1 Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), also called somatomedin C, is a hormone similar in molecular structure to insulin which plays an important role in childhood growth, and has anabolic effects in adults. IGF-1 is a protein that in humans is ...
, cortisone and did blood transfusions. He also stated that his cycling career was over and that he wanted to cooperate fully with the Danish anti-doping institutions. The Danish Authorities stated that they would be looking to enforce a two-year ban, reduced from the normal eight-year ban in exchange for revealing what he knew about other illegal doping activities. In September 2013 it was confirmed by Danmarks Idræts-Forbund (DIF) that he would receive a 2-year ban from 8 February 2013 to 7 February 2015 and would be stripped of results from January 2005 to March 2010. This decision has yet to be ratified by Danish Anti Doping (ADD) or the UCI.


Major results


Mountain bike

;1999 : 1st Cross-country, UCI World Championships


Road

;2001 : 2nd Overall Jadranska Magistrala ::1st Stage 2 : 2nd Overall Tour de Croatie : 9th
Gran Premio di Lugano The Gran Premio di Lugano ( en, Grand Prix of Lugano) is a road bicycle race held annually in Lugano, Switzerland. Prior to 1981 it was held as an individual time trial but in recent years it has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe ...
;2002 : 3rd Giro dell'Emilia : 4th Overall Vuelta a Burgos ::1st Stage 4 : 4th Giro del Friuli : 5th Giro del Veneto : 7th Coppa Ugo Agostoni : 7th Klasika Primavera : 9th Japan Cup ;2003 : 1st Mountains classification, Volta a Catalunya : 4th Road race, National Championships : 7th Overall Vuelta a España ::1st Stage 7 : 7th Overall Tour of the Basque Country : 7th Overall
Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme The Catalan Cycling Week (''Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme'' in Catalan) was a multi-stage road bicycle race held in Catalonia, Spain. Held annually from 1963 until 2005, it was run as a 2.HC race on the UCI Europe Tour in the second half of March. ...
: 9th Clásica de San Sebastián ;2004 : 7th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré ::1st Mountains classification ::1st Stage 6 :
Combativity award The combativity award is a prize given in road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on Road surface, paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional sport, professional form of ...
Stages 13 & 15 Tour de France ;2005 : 1st RaboRonde Heerlen : 7th Overall Tour de France ::1st
Mountains classification The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a femal ...
::1st Stage 9 ::
Combativity award The combativity award is a prize given in road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on Road surface, paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional sport, professional form of ...
Stage 9 ;2006 : Tour de France ::1st
Mountains classification The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a femal ...
::1st Stage 16 ::
Combativity award The combativity award is a prize given in road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on Road surface, paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional sport, professional form of ...
Stage 16 ;2007 : Tour de France ::1st Stages 8 & 16 ::Held after Stages 8–16 ::
Combativity award The combativity award is a prize given in road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on Road surface, paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional sport, professional form of ...
Stage 8 ;2009 : 6th Overall
Vuelta Chihuahua Internacional Vuelta Chihuahua Internacional (Vuelta a Chihuahua) was a stage race held annually in October in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. The Vuelta a Chihuahua was first contested in 2005, as part of the UCI America Tour schedule, and was run over seve ...
::1st Prologue ;2010 : 8th Overall Tour de San Luis ;2011 : 2nd Overall Tour de Serbie ::1st Stage 3 : 4th Overall
Tour of Norway The Tour of Norway is a road bicycle race held annually in Norway. It is considered as a successor to the stage race Ringerike GP, which is now a one-day race. It was started in 2011 as a result of the heightened interest in cycling in Norway, ma ...
: 4th Overall
Brixia Tour The Brixia Tour was an Italian cycle road race held annually in the province of Brescia, Lombardy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing ...
: 8th Overall GP Herning : 8th Overall
Himmerland Rundt The Himmerland Rundt is a one-day road cycling race held annually in the Danish region of Himmerland. It is organized as a part of the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introd ...
;2012 : 1st
Ringerike GP Ringerike Grand Prix is a road bicycle race held annually near Hønefoss, in the region of Ringerike, Norway. The race was created in 1975 as the Fossen Grand Prix, and was ranked 2.2 on the UCI Europe Tour between 2005 and 2010. In 2011 it turn ...
: 3rd Overall
Tour of China The Tour of China is an annual professional road bicycle racing stage race held in China since 1995. The race is sanctioned by the International Cycling Union (UCI) as a 2.1 category race as part of the UCI Asia Tour The UCI Continental Circuits ...
I ::1st Stage 1 ( TTT) : 8th Overall Tour de Serbie


Grand Tour general classification results timeline


See also

* List of doping cases in cycling *
Sports in Denmark Sport in Denmark is diverse. The national sport is running, but club sport is football with the most notable results being qualifying for the European Championships six times in a row (1984–2004) and winning the Championship in 1992. Other sig ...


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rasmussen, Michael 1974 births Cyclists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Danish male cyclists Doping cases in cycling Danish Tour de France stage winners Living people Cross-country mountain bikers Olympic cyclists for Denmark Danish Vuelta a España stage winners Danish sportspeople in doping cases People from Holbæk Municipality UCI Mountain Bike World Champions (men) Cyclists from Region Zealand