COPENHAGEN, July 25, 2008 (AFP) - Danish cyclist Michael Rasmussen said Friday he will appeal the decision of a Utrecht court which awarded him 665,000 euros (one million dollars) against his former Rabobank team for the way he was kicked off their 2007 Tour de France team.

The 34-year-old, who instituted proceedings for unlawful dismissal demanding damages of 5.5 million euros, said: 'We're appealing the decision from Utrecht.

My advisors and I agreed on that yesterday.'

While wearing the leader's yellow jersey, Rasmussen was thrown off the race by Rabobank for lying about his whereabouts when he was being sought out for doping tests.

A judge in Utrecht ruled this month that Rabobank had been entitled to dismiss Rasmussen from the team but that they followed the wrong procedure.

The bank had gone the route of immediate dismissal, a procedure that can only be used on urgent grounds: immediately after the uncovering of the facts warranting such action.

The judge decided that Rasmussen should receive the equivalent of two months salary and the 400,000-euro bonus he would have been awarded as Tour de France winner, amounting to 665,000 euros.

But Rasmussen's lawyer Karoly Nemeth said Friday the judge had not taken a number of points into consideration and his client had not received enough compensation.

'I can say for example that Rasmussen was not compensated for all the stages he won and for which he should have been paid,' Nemeth told Danish television station TV2.