A fair share of cycling royalty around this lunchtable in Aarhus, Denmark today. Well - and me 😊. @andy_schleck @schleckfrank @f_cancellara @thejensie, Bjarne Riis.
"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
CyclingTuesday, 05 December 2023 at 19:00
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.”
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- I think you overestimate scientific knowledge and for sure the spreading of it. There are huge numbers of people in similar situations, if there were an easy solution somebody would be making big money out of it. Nerve pain can have many complex origins or be due to complex combinations of reasons. Even if you discover a reason there is not always a solution. Migraines haven’t been solved either. I have had lower back/hip nerve pains on and off for over 30 years, no kind of doctor has ever found a way to reduce, prevent or solve the problem. It may just be that some people are born with nerves that are too short or get twisted out of position during certain movements.Mistermaumau22-12-2024
- Amazing ride by her and very promising for her future. On a side note, it’s a bit worrying all these wins riders have after emotional moments in their lives, someone will come up with emotional doping at some point. Maybe give them fake news just before a big race to get hormones pumping.Mistermaumau22-12-2024
- I doubt he will have the energy to do that if he continues to do leadout for Phillipsenabstractengineer22-12-2024
- I know several people who’ve tried contacting sport airbag manufacturers and none of them ever got a reply. Might be hard to organise anything with such attitudes.Mistermaumau22-12-2024
- It's the BBC. Who cares outside of little Britain.leodis22-12-2024
- Crawl back under your stone.leodis22-12-2024
- Thanks Dadmobk22-12-2024
- Hard to believe with the advancment of modern medicine he can not find a cause for this.frieders321-12-2024
- You continue to platform these two cheats. With that in mind I can no longer use your site. I know my leaving means little, but, sometimes you have to take a stand. See ya!DJ21-12-2024
- Look at what Froome’s won since his last TdF, stop denying there is still more than possible one outcome to the future.Mistermaumau21-12-2024