Dane won’t commit to signing climbing specialist
The issue of whether or not Michael Rasmussen could make a fresh start with the Saxo Bank Sungaard team in 2011 is an ongoing one. While team owner Bjarne Riis is still not committing to sign the rider, he has said that he believes Rasmussen is going about his rehabilitation in the right manner.
“I contend he must be given a chance, but there is probably some way to go yet,” said Riis to BT. However he agrees with how Rasmussen is conducting himself in his efforts. “He apologizes to those he has offended, and it is a great strategy. And then we shall see how it ends.”
Riis met with Rasmussen’s personal sponsor Christina Hembo just under a fortnight ago and said that he was thinking about whether or not to bring the Dane on board. “We’ve talked about things, and I am considering it like I consider when I get other requests from riders who want in on the team,” he said at the time.
There’s been no concrete news since then, but he told BT that he objects to people expecting that it is he who must give his fellow Dane a break. “It’s seems a little that it is up to me to decide Michael Rasmussen’s future, and that is not right,” said Riis.
Alberto Contador is the top signing to Riis’ new-look squad for 2011 and 2012, and has said that he doesn’t personally object to the double Tour de France King of the Mountains coming on board.
“With regard to Michael Rasmussen, he is a rider who I think has paid for the situation he was previously in,” he said, referring to the 36 year old’s two-year suspension for lying about his whereabouts during the 2007 season.
“He is a rider who has already achieved a lot. But in this context, it is Riis who must make the decision.”
While Rasmussen has served his suspension, two factors may be weighing on Riis’s mind. The first is the link between Rasmussen and the doping ring in Vienna, as run by Bernhard Kohl’s former agent Stefan Matschiner.
The second is Riis’s own controversial background, and the likelihood that he has to treat carefully and ensure that no scandal is linked to his team.
From Rasmussen’s point of view, he has served his ban and wants the opportunity to start again, even if it means riding for a leader like Rasmussen. UCI President Pat McQuaid recently said he had no objection to the rider being given another chance.