Today would have been a perfect day for Tour de France leader Michael Rasmussen if it hadn’t been for all those pesky journalists asking doping questions. When Lance Armstrong was in his pomp at the Tour, confrontations between the Texan and the French media were often the most entertaining part of the race. But then Armstrong seemed to enjoy the verbal jousting and never backed down from a fight.

Rasmussen seems made of less stern stuff. It took only three questions from the media for him to cut and run this afternoon, but then all three questions were hostile and focused on doping. For some reason though, he seemed surprised and unbriefed — despite the fact that the papers this morning were full of speculation over his credibility and these now notorious warnings for missing out-of-competition tests.

Rasmussen is trying to shoo the scandal away, but in all truth, things ain’t looking too rosy for the rider nicknamed Chicken.

During the brief post-race press conference, he initially looked cocky, then bemused and then took on the wide-eyed expression of a rabbit frozen in the lights — this time of a hundred flashguns and TV cameras.

Worse still for the 33 year old Dane, Saturday’s stage is a potentially decisive time trial, and the weather forecast is for rain. The last time Rasmussen rode a Tour time trial under this kind of pressure, he ended up in the ditch — twice. And it was hot and sunny.

So what price Alejandro Valverde of Spain, currently two and a half minutes behind this skittish Chicken, comfortably wearing the maillot jaune by this time tomorrow?