In his new book, former Tour de France king of the mountains Michael Rasmussen accuses 2012 Giro d'Italia winner Ryder Hesjedal of doping in his mountain bike career. The Dane claims that he taught Hesjedal how to use EPO and synachten while the Canadian prepared for the 2003 World Championships.

Earlier this year when Michael Rasmussen admitted to a career-long use of doping, the former Tour de France king of the mountains didn't make any public accusations against anyone but claimed to have told the full story to the Danish anti-doping authorities. The extent of his accusations are set to be revealed on Monday when his book "Yellow fever" will be published in Denmark.

Since yesterday evening, the first excerpts from his book have started to surface and while the first revelations have mostly centered around Saxo-Tinkoff owner Bjarne Riis and current and former Danish riders, it has now been confirmed that his accusations will also involve current international stars. Rasmussen claims to have taught 2012 Giro d'Italia champion Ryder Hesjedal how to use EPO when the Canadian rode as a mountain biker in 2003.

Rasmussen himself started his career as a mountain biker and won the World Championships in 1999 before turning his attention to the road. Hesjedal followed a similar career path and excelled in the off-road discipline in the early part of the millennium at a time when Rasmussen was riding on the road for the Rabobank team.

Rasmussen claims that he introduced Hesjedal to EPO and synachten while the Canadian stayed in his house to prepare for the 2003 World Championships.

"It was evident that the three Canadian mountain bikers Seamus McGrath, Chris Sheppard and Ryder Hesjedal had seen the light: a good performance at the Worlds would earn them a spot at the 2004 Athens Olympics. They moved into my basement in August before I travelled to the Vuelta a Espana, just after my participation in Meisterschaft von Zürich. There, they stayed around fourteen days time. We trained together in the Dolomites and I taught them how to inject vitamines and to use EPO and synachten," Rasmussen writes and claims that the three Canadians left his house with a hematocrit of around 48.

"Chris Sheppard was 16th at Worlds, Seamus McGrath was riding in 6th-8th place when he was forced to abandon, and Ryder Hesjedal finished 2nd. Hesjedal would have won gold at the Olympics if he hadn't punctured close to the finish. In 2012, he won the Giro d'Italia after a couple of good years on the road," Rasmussen adds while recalling how the good results in 2003 were celebrated by the Canadians.

"As they finished in the top 16, they received money from the Canadian state. With his result, Chris Sheppard just made it. They rode the Worlds just as we finished the Vuelta. We decided to celebrate their race at a dinner in Italy. Chris Sheppard paid for everything."

Hesjedal turned to the road in 2004 with the US Postal team and stayed there until the team - now known as Discovery Channel - folded at the end of the 2005 season. He hasn't been  implicated in the many doping accusations that were made public in the USADA report last autumn. In 2006 he joined Phonak but wasn't part of the team that worked for Floyd Landis in his now infamous Tour de France-winning ride.

In 2007 he rode for Health Net before joining his current Garmin team in 2008. His major breakthrough came in 2010 when he finished 6th in the Tour de France and he went on to win the Giro 2 years later.

The Garmin team has supported its riders Christian Vande Velde, Tom Danielson and David Zabriskie who all admitted to doping in the USADA investigation and is known for a clear anti-doping stance. Team manager Jonathan Vaughters admitted to doping in a testimony given as part of the Armstrong case.

Co-author of the book Klaus Wivel has contacted all three Canadian riders to ask for their reaction. While Sheppard and McGrath have refused to comment, Hesjedal hasn't even responded.