Evans now fighting for possible Tour victory
The yellow jersey hopes of Australia's Cadel Evans went sky high this morning (Australian time) only hours after Tour de France leader Michael Rasmussen was ousted from the race by his Rabobank team.
The 33-year-old Danish climbing specialist has been at the centre of doping speculation since it was revealed last week that he missed four random controls over the past 18 months.
After a week of their suspicion being aroused, his Dutch outfit finally cracked after learning that Rasmussen had been in Italy in June, and not in Mexico, where he sometimes lives with his Mexican wife, as he had claimed.
In the wake of Rasmussen's exit, Discovery Channel's 24-year-old Spanish climber Alberto Contador, one of the few riders able to keep pace with him in the mountains, will take over the race lead.
Evans will move up to second overall, at 1 minute and 53 seconds behind Contador, ahead of Saturday's decisive time-trial over 55.5 kilometres from Cognac to Angouleme.
Rasmussen's absence means that Evans, who scored an Australian best last year by finishing fifth overall, will surely secure a podium place at the very least.
-AFP