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GOURETTE, France — Tour de France leader Michael Rasmussen of Denmark has been removed from the race, a devastating blow to cycling's premier event which has been rocked by a series of doping scandals.
“Michael Rasmussen has been sent home for violating [the team's] internal rules,” Rabobank team spokesman Jacob Bergsma said Wednesday.
The expulsion, which Bergsma said was ordered by the Dutch team sponsor, was linked to “incorrect” information that Rasmussen gave to the team's sports director over his whereabouts last month. Rasmussen missed random drug tests May 8 and June 28.
The 33-year-old rider, who won Wednesday's stage, had looked set to win the race, which ends Sunday in Paris.
