"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
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.
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.
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.”
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling for
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
Loading
A fair share of cycling royalty around this lunchtable in Aarhus, Denmark today. Well - and me 😊. @andy_schleck @schleckfrank @f_cancellara @thejensie, Bjarne Riis.
2 Comments