As he admitted in an interview for Wielerrevue.nl, Michael Rasmussen’s training partner Jakob Fuglsang of Astana was not only unaware, but “shocked” by the scale of doping activities revealed in the confessions of more experienced compatriot.

Even though the duo trained together regularly, 28-year old Dane admits that he found no reason to question honesty of former Rabobank ProTeam rider back then. However, shocked by an amount of revelations contained in the book released by Rasmussen, Fuglsang is now able to look at some particular happenings from an entirely different perspective.

“I was shocked by some things that have come out now,” Fuglsang told Wielerrevue.

“That he drove to Austria to do blood bags in the same period that we trained together for example... How is that possible?

“I remember that I came home after a period with a lot of races and thought 's***, he's really sharp,’” Fuglsang added.

“My explanation was that he was just very focused on training and I was a little tired. Now I know the real reason. I had no idea what he was doing. Many people think that I should have known because sometimes we trained together, but he gave no reason to doubt him.”

The 28-year old Astana rider admits, that he had an opportunity to discuss with Rasmussen various issues concerning doping on many occasions and the more experienced Danish cyclist never came out with any particular confessions. Fuglsang suspects that his uncompromised attitude to using banned substances, connected with representing a different generation of bike riders and well known to former Tour de France contender, served as a sufficient reason to remain silent.

“Naturally we talked about doping, as everyone was talking about it in the cycling world,” Fuglsang explained.

“But I'm sure Michael knew how I feel about doping. I would absolutely not be interested if he offered something. Maybe it's because I'm from a different generation. I'm happy where I am and want to see how far I can go, as a clean rider. Then I can say afterwards that all my results have been achieved in a fair manner.”

Danish rider was shocked not only by the scale of described phenomenon, but by the variety of methods used by Rasmussen, on many occasions strictly connected with risking health and life in a pursuit of enhancing sports achievements.

“It shocked me most how many risks he took,” said Fuglsang.

“He took blood substitutes that were meant for dogs for example. Then you are playing with your life? That’s how I see it. It amazed me that someone could go so far.”

Even though both Danes originated from mountain biking and Rasmussen was at the top of his game when Fuglsang started his career as a professional cyclist, the uninfluenced Astana team rider never treated his more experienced countryman as an example to follow.

“Especially since Michael was a climber and I saw myself as a general classification rider,” Fuglsang explained.

“He was a good training partner, always willing to do an hour longer. That fact has nothing to do with doping, but says a lot about his mental focus. No, he was never really an idol at all. Maybe it's because I've always wanted to do it in my own way.”