Just when you thought Tour de France coverage was over, today, it was announced outsed Michael Rasmussen is in negotiations to rejoin his former Italian cycling team. Rasmussen was shown the door during the Tour after he failed to cooperate and tell his team about his whereabouts while training.

"He wants to finish the season with us,'' Masciarelli told The Associated Press on Thursday. "He showed me all his papers. The problem is with the Danish federation.''

Rasmussen, a 33-year-old Dane, was kicked out of this year's Tour - while leading the race - by his Dutch team Rabobank for allegedly lying about his whereabouts to evade doping tests. Rasmussen has denied those accusations.

"I'm the victim of a great injustice and my lawyers are working to take care of me,'' Rasmussen was quoted as saying in Thursday's Gazzetta dello Sport. "My goal is to find a team because I would like to have a great Giro di Lombardia.''

The Giro di Lombardia, the final single-day classic of the cycling season, is scheduled for Oct. 20.

Rasmussen allegedly missed two tests and Masciarelli indicated that he shouldn't have been penalized until he missed a third.

"I don't think kicking him out of the Tour was the right thing to do,'' Masciarelli said. "The confusion surrounding this case is enormous.''

Masciarelli added that his team could make a decision regarding Rasmussen by Monday or Tuesday.

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