Beleaguered climbing specialist Michael Rasmussen could be slapped with a two-year ban if the UCI has its way.

Cycling’s governing body announced Friday it is asking Monaco’s cycling federation to open disciplinary proceedings against the Danish rider, who holds his racing license in the principality.

Rasmussen, 33, has been the center of a media firestorm since last year’s Tour de France when it was revealed that he missed out-of-competition tests in a lead-up to the 2007 edition.

Fleeting glory? Rasmussen celebrates a win just hours before the illusion vanished.

Photo: AFP

His Rabobank team removed him from the race just hours after he won Stage 16 and all but securing overall victory with just four days left to the Tour’s conclusion in Paris.

In a press release issued Friday, the UCI claims that Rasmussen purposely evaded out-of-competition controls and is pressing for a two-year racing ban.

“Michael Rasmussen has publicly acknowledged what the UCI believes to be violation of its whereabouts requirements under Rule 15.4 in the period leading up to the Tour de France 2007,” the communiqué read. “After an extensive and careful investigation of the circumstances, the UCI also believes that Michael Rasmussen violated Rules 15.3 and 15.5 by evading controls in a premeditated manner and preventing controls being undertaken.”

UCI rules require riders to provide accurate information about their whereabouts and to be available to anti-doping controls on a 24-hour basis. Missing out-of-competition tests can result in a two-year racing ban.

Rasmussen’s whereabouts in the weeks ahead of the 2007 Tour have been rife with inconsistencies.

Rasmussen first insisted he was training in Mexico, but later admitted that he was on training camps in the Alps and Pyrenees with the full knowledge of Rabobank management.

“First of all, I would like to clearly state that I was not in Mexico in June. I have therefore misinformed both the UCI and the public,” Rasmussen said during a press conference in November. “It is however important for me to stress that at no point did I lie to the team Rabobank.”

Instead of training in Mexico as he previously stated, Rasmussen admitted he was in Italy between June 4-19. He also confirmed that he met Italian TV journalist Davide Cassani, an admission that helped auger his hasty removal from the Tour last July.

From June 20-23, he traveled to the Alps and was in the Pyrenees from June 25 with Rabobank teammate Denis Menchov and a team soigneur. He also said he met personally with team sport director Erik Breukink on June 7 in Bergamo, Italy.

For the UCI, those admissions help bolster their case that Rasmussen should be leveled a racing ban.

Rasmussen, meanwhile, is reportedly preparing a lawsuit against his Rabobank team. He currently does not have a contract with a team to race in 2008.