05/12/2023

"Just because I did something wrong once doesn't mean I'm a bad person" - 1996 Tour de France winner Bjarne Riis moves on from professional cycling

After becoming the first Danish winner of the Tour de France back in 1996, Bjarne Riis was one of the big stars of 1990s cycling. In 2007 however, Riis admitted to doping during his peak and has understandably been a controversial character for cycling fans since.

Despite his admission of doping, the Dane remained a familiar face in cycling's biggest races as team owner and then manager of CSC-ProTeam which eventually morphed into Saxo Bank-Tinkoff and oversaw Grand Tour successes of the likes of Carlos Sastre, Alberto Contador and the breakthrough of Andy Schleck. The cloud of controversy stayed with Riis though and there were lingering doping doubts even during his time in his new role.

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Now though, Riis has declared his intention to fully move on from cycling as he starts a new business venture in Denmark. "The last few years down in Switzerland, I've been thinking a lot about what I should do going forward, and in that process, I've come to the point that cycling, where I've been - that's a finished chapter. I think I want to do something else," said Riis in conversation with Børsen.

Reflecting on his time in cycling “I've never hid and I've always stood up to a beating over the years. I've acknowledged my mistakes and moved on, but just because I did something wrong once doesn't mean I'm a bad person. I can still be a good leader and I can still inspire people,” he explains.

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This comes just a week after the long-awaited admission of Riis' former teammate Jan Ullrich, that he too was a doper during his time in the peloton. Looking at how both lives have transpired since their time together at Team Telekom, Riis is thankful that he didn't fall into some of the same personal traps as the German has done.

“I just thank myself for being a strong person and for having a good family behind me. Of course, I have had my crises If I hadn't been strong, I probably would have had a slightly different life," he concludes. “Just take Jan Ullrich, you don't have to look any further.”