Cycling: Danish rider banned

Danish rider Michael Rasmussen has been banned for two years by the Monaco Cycling Federation after he was expelled from last year's Tour de France, media reports said yesterday.

"The Monaco cycling federation has inflicted a two-year ban on Michael Rasmussen. The ban looks set to run from his exclusion from the tour," Italy's Gazzetta dello Sport website reported.

Rasmussen, 34, who lives in Italy, was sacked by his Rabobank team while leading the tour four days from the finish after it emerged he had lied about his whereabouts in training.