CYCLINGA DUTCH court has ruled that Danish cyclist Michael Rasmussen was justifiably sacked by former team Rabobank during last year's Tour de France.

However, the court ordered Rabobank to pay Rasmussen roughly €700,000 in damages for firing the cyclist with immediate effect last July.

The 34-year-old specialist climber was expelled by his Dutch-based team while leading the race with just four stages remaining after it emerged he had lied about his location in training.

He had asked the court for €5.5 million in damages for unlawful dismissal.

"Rabobank has to pay Rasmussen the salary he would have earned if the lawful period was considered to fire him," the court announced in a statement yesterday.

Rasmussen had the right to two months' salary and a contractual bonus of €400,000 which he would have gained if he had won the race, the court said.

Rabobank were not immediately available for comment.

The court argued that an on-the-spot sacking would have only been fair immediately after discovering the facts which brought about the dismissal.

The team, however, could have known earlier that the statements he made about his whereabouts were not true.

Rabobank sacked Rasmussen at the end of July after it emerged publicly that he had been in Italy in June while the Dane said he had been training in Mexico.

Rasmussen, who has denied doping, said last November that he lied in the build up to the Tour de France because of personal problems.