Rasmussen: "I am not finished" as a cyclist

Rasmussen, 33, was dropped from his Rabobank team late Wednesday, hours after winning the 16th stage after apparently misleading authorities and the team about his whereabouts and for missing out on four out-of-competition doping tests in 2006 and earlier in the year.

 "It is barely 24 hours since I was thrown out of the Tour de France and I am very, very low. I still can't understand what happened. But I have had time to collect myself a little, and I can guarantee that I am not finished as a rider," Rasmussen said according to the Politiken newspaper.

 After winning the 16th stage Wednesday, Rasmussen - who was overall leader - said he felt very confident of winning the overall race but felt that he was "robbed" of the victory.

 "It is no secret that I am mad at Rabobank's manager Theo de Rooij. It was on his initiative alone that the decision was made," Rasmussen said, adding that his lawyer was looking into the matter.

 Rasmussen said "he did not feel obliged to publicly discuss his whereabouts" in June and declined to answer if his passport had stamps that proved if he had entered Mexico or not, saying his lawyer handled those issues.

 The rider has maintained he was in Mexico in June, while former Italian cyclist Davide Cassani has said he saw him in Italy.

 The Danish Cycling Federation last week said it would exclude Rasmussen from the national team over his failure to inform the authorities of his whereabouts.//dpa