KEY POINTS:
Dane Michael Rasmussen told a Dutch newspaper that relationship problems led to his lying about his whereabouts before the Tour de France, an offence for which he was expelled from the race and sacked by his team.
"At the end of March, I faced serious personal problems, in the area of relationships to be exact," Rasmussen was quoted as saying in the Dutch daily De Telegraaf.
"I wanted to train without disturbances preparing for the Tour and not be confronted with this. That is why it was better that the world thought that I was in Mexico."
Rasmussen declined to give details about his personal problems but told the paper he had disclosed them to the International Cycling Union and an independent inquiry, which concluded last month it was right to sack him.
Asked about the night he was expelled from the Tour and moved to a hotel, he told the paper: "Five hours after I stood on the stage, I was suddenly alone. My whole world had collapsed. I was lucky I could not find a rope in the room. Otherwise I would not have been here now."
