Rabobank to fight Rasmussen pay

The Rabobank cycling team has no plans to pay Michael Rasmussen the 700,000 Euros that the court has ordered it to pay, the team said. Rabobank plans to appeal the decision by a Utrecht court in July which ordered Rabobank to pay Rasmussen an amount of 700,000 Euros in damages, according to Sporza.

Rabobank believes that Rasmussen, who was thrown out of the 2007 Tour de France, is receiving too much. Rasmussen was suspended after it was revealed the rider lied about his whereabouts to avoid out of competition tests by anti-doping officials.

"We are in opposition of the high amount," Rabobank confirmed. "We feel that the previous director Theo de Rooij and team manager Erik Breukink should also be heard in the court."

In a unique twist the Danish rider, who was fired by the team the evening of his second stage win in the 2007 Tour, is also planning on fighting the decision. He believes that the amount awarded by the court last month is too little.