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Rasmussen: 2007 whereabouts lies were marital-related

published 15 November 2011

Didn't want wife to know he was not living in their Italian home

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Michael Rasmussen, Christina Watches (Image credit: Team Christina Watches)

Michael Rasmussen has finally admitted why he lied about his whereabouts in the build-up to the Tour de France 2007. He did it so that his wife would not know where he was, insinuating – but not saying directly – that he was with another woman.

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Rasmussen had claimed to be in Mexico, his wife's home country, preparing for the Tour, whilst he was actually in Italy. When the “false information'” as he called it came to light, he was removed from the Tour, which he was leading, and subsequently suspended for two years.

“The thing is that my wife would like to think I was in Mexico. I was in Italy but I did not live at home,” he told Ekstra Bladet. He owns a home on Lake Garda.

Rasmussen did not disclose any further details. “This is where the private must remain private,” he said, saying only, “Amazingly many cyclists get divorced when their career is over. I was very close to being a pawn in the statistics and I am happy that it worked out.

“The Tour scandal and everything that followed was a very, very tough ordeal for our marriage. It was an extreme situation and an extreme time. If it were not for Milo (their son), I doubt that we would have managed to save our marriage. He was the glue that nevertheless kept us together.”