Milan, Italy - Danish rider Michael Rasmussen has been banned for two years by the Monaco Cycling Federation after he was expelled from last year's Tour de France, media reports said.

'The Monaco cycling federation has inflicted a two-year ban on Michael Rasmussen. The ban looks set to run from his exclusion from the tour,' Italy's Gazzetta dello Sport website (http://www.gazzetta.it) reported on Tuesday.

The Monaco federation, which held Rasmussen's racing licence, was not available for comment.

He has been facing a two-year ban since February when the International Cycling Union (UCI) called on the Monaco federation to discipline him. The union said in February that after an extensive and careful investigation it believed the rider had acted in a premeditated manner and had prevented doping controls from being undertaken. Rasmussen, who has denied doping, said last November he lied in the runup to the race because of personal problems. -- REUTERS