Rasmussen doped his way to world title

Michael Rasmussen used EPO and growth hormone to help win the Mountain Bike World Championships in 1999 before switching to road racing.

“I used EPO, and I used growth hormone,” Rasmussen confirmed to sports channel TV2 Sporten.

“I felt that was what was needed. It had become part of my daily life, so it wasn’t something I had major moral scruples about. It wasn’t because I thought it was fun sticking needles in myself.

“I can remember the first time I had to inject myself in the arm. It meant crossing a huge boundary, but it paved the way for a completely new dimension to my cycling career.

“At that time I was consistently among the very best mountain bike riders in the world, but at some point I no longer felt that my results were matching my talent and what I was entitled to. So I felt this was the way to go,” he explained.

Rasmussen, who has reportedly told all to the anti-doping authorities to help the sport in its fight against doping, was asked whether Bjarne Riis had known about his doping in 2002, when Rasmussen rode for Riis’s team:

“I can’t say anything about that, [but] I have provided that sort of information,” he replied, referring to his agreement with the anti-doping authorities to give details without publicly disclosing anything about other people.