Millar says Rasmussen has ruined Tour

By Agence France Presse

Saunier Duval’s David Millar has hit out at Tour de France leader Michael Rasmussen, claiming in Monday’s edition of L’Equipe that he had ruined the race.

Scotland’s time trial specialist, who came 20th in Saturday’s race against the clock, said Rasmussen’s failure to give notice to cycling authorities of his whereabouts for out-of-competition testing had spoiled things for the whole peloton.

During the last week it emerged that the Danish Cycling Union (DCU) decided in June not to select Rasmussen for September’s world cycling championships and the Olympic Games in 2008 because he missed out-of-competition tests.

Millar was quoted in L’Equipe as saying: “It is unacceptable that Rasmussen did not manage to give notice of his whereabouts. It is understandable he had problems communicating his address from Mexico, but it is up to him to make sure his federation receives notification.

“He started the race knowing what would happen but did nothing to rectify the situation and now we are all screwed, and the Tour is in the shit. He took no notice of warnings from the UCI (cycling’s world governing body) though he deserved to be punished.

“He has either been unprofessional or has used the system.”

Millar was banned for two years in August 2004 for using blood-booster EPO and was rectroactively stripped of his 2003 world time-trial victory. Millar has since been vocal and active in anti-doping efforts.

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