Cycling | Hacker tries to sell Rasmussen info
By The Associated Press

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — A man has been arrested on suspicion he hacked into Danish cyclist Michael Rasmussen’s e-mails and tried to sell them to a newspaper, police said Thursday.

The 30-year-old man, who was not named due to Danish privacy rules, reportedly claimed the e-mails contained information about Rasmussen’s whereabouts before the Tour de France.

Rasmussen was kicked out of the Tour by his Rabobank team — while leading the race — for allegedly lying about his whereabouts to evade drug testers.

He missed random drug tests in May and June. He said he had been in Mexico, but a former Italian rider said he saw him in Italy at the time.

The man was arrested Wednesday after he allegedly tried to sell Rasmussen’s e-mails to the B.T. newspaper in Copenhagen. He faces preliminary charges of illegally obtaining another person’s e-mail. If found guilty, he could be sentenced to up to 18 months in prison.

B.T. said it was contacted on Monday by a person offering to sell the contents of Rasmussen’s e-mail inbox. The man said he had guessed the rider’s password to access the account. The newspaper contacted Rasmussen, who confirmed it was his e-mail account.