Dane Michael Rasmussen hopes of returning to his country's top team, Saxo Bank, ended today. Saxo Bank's boss, Bjarne Riis denied any possibility of a contract for Rasmussen, who left the 2007 Tour de France in disgrace.
"I have seen that there are articles and rumours again that I want to sign Michael as new rider," Riis told Ekstra Bladet. "There's a quick clarification: I do not have an agreement, there is almost no contact, and I will not hire Michael Rasmussen for Saxo Bank-SunGard."
Riis likely saw two big sticking points in hiring Rasmussen: his age, 36, and his chequered past
Team Rabobank pulled Rasmussen from the 2007 Tour de France while he was in the lead for lying about his whereabouts before the race. The Danish cycling federation and the International Cycling Union (UCI) showed that he had missed three out-of-competition doping controls, which is the equivalent of a failed doping test.
Like Saxo Bank, other first division teams want to avoid the risk in hiring Rasmussen.
"I would like to reiterate," added Riis, "that I hope Michael gets an opportunity to race again. Because he has earned it, after he has served his sentence. In my book, you are clean once you serve your sentence."
Riis answered questions about Rasmussen today when he launched his autobiography book, called Riis. In his book, he details his cycling career, which includes drug use and winning the 1996 Tour de France.
The 46-year-old became a team manager in 1999 with Team Home-Jack & Jones. Rasmussen made his professional debut as a road racer for his team in 2002, when it was called CSC-Tiscali.
Riis is waiting for news from the UCI on his new signing, three-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador.
The Spaniard faces a possible two-year suspension after testing positive for weight loss drug, Clenbuterol on July 21 at the Tour de France. The UCI is reviewing his urine samples from the Tour de France to determine if, as Contador says, the Clenbuterol came from contaminated Spanish meat.
He announced the positive Clenbuterol control on September 30, two months after he won the Tour de France by 39 seconds ahead of Luxembourg's Andy Schleck. The UCI announced that same day that it provisionally suspended him from racing while it investigates his case.
Riis signed Contador to replace the Schleck brothers, Fränk and Andy. He reportedly offered him a contract worth €9 million over two years.