The Most Famous

CYCLISTS from Denmark

This page contains a list of the greatest Danish Cyclists. The pantheon dataset contains 1,613 Cyclists, 51 of which were born in Denmark. This makes Denmark the birth place of the 9th most number of Cyclists behind Australia, and United Kingdom.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Danish Cyclists of all time. This list of famous Danish Cyclists is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Danish Cyclists.

1. Tony Rominger (b. 1961)

With an HPI of 53.11, Tony Rominger is the most famous Danish Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 31 different languages on wikipedia.

Tony Rominger (born 27 March 1961 in Vejle, Denmark) is a Swiss former professional road racing cyclist who won the Vuelta a España in 1992, 1993 and 1994 and the Giro d'Italia in 1995.

2. Bjarne Riis (b. 1964)

With an HPI of 52.85, Bjarne Riis is the 2nd most famous Danish Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 30 different languages.

Bjarne Lykkegård Riis (Danish pronunciation: [ˈpjɑːnə ˈʁiˀs]; born 3 April 1964), nicknamed The Eagle from Herning (Danish: Ørnen fra Herning), is a Danish former professional road bicycle racer who placed first in the 1996 Tour de France. For many years he was the owner and later manager of the Oleg Tinkov associated Russian UCI WorldTeam Tinkoff–Saxo. Other career highlights include placing first in the Amstel Gold Race in 1997, multiple Danish National Championships, and stage wins in the Giro d'Italia. On 25 May 2007, he admitted that he placed first in the Tour de France using banned substances, and he was no longer considered the winner by the Tour's organizers. In July 2008, the Tour reconfirmed his victory but with an asterisk label to indicate his doping offences.

3. Henry Hansen (1902 - 1985)

With an HPI of 51.53, Henry Hansen is the 3rd most famous Danish Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Henry Peter Christian Hansen (16 March 1902 – 28 March 1985) was a Danish road racing cyclist who won two gold medals at the 1928 Summer Olympics and a silver medal at the 1932 Summer Olympics. Hansen won the world title in 1931 and placed in the top 10 at three other world championships. At the Nordic Championships, he won the individual road race in 1925–1927 and 1929, and held the team title in 1926 and 1929. Nationally, he won the Danish championships in 1921, 1923, 1925, and 1930. In 1937 and 1938 he competed professionally without major success. After retiring from competitions he held various administrative positions, serving as Chairman of the Danish Cycling Union in 1967–1971. Hansen's niece was married to Knud Enemark Jensen, the Danish cyclist who died during competition at the 1960 Summer Olympics.

4. Ole Ritter (b. 1941)

With an HPI of 48.56, Ole Ritter is the 4th most famous Danish Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Ole Ritter (born 29 August 1941) is a former Danish racing cyclist, mainly known for breaking the hour record in 1968.

5. Willy Hansen (1906 - 1978)

With an HPI of 47.93, Willy Hansen is the 5th most famous Danish Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Willy Falck Hansen (4 April 1906 – 18 March 1978) was a Danish track cyclist who won a silver medal at the 1924 Summer Olympics with Edmund Hansen and gold and bronze medals at the 1928 Summer Olympics.

6. Jonas Vingegaard (b. 1996)

With an HPI of 47.84, Jonas Vingegaard is the 6th most famous Danish Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 36 different languages.

Jonas Vingegaard Hansen (Danish: [ˈjoːnæs ˈʋe̝ŋəˌkɒːˀ ˈhænˀsn̩]; né Rasmussen; born 10 December 1996) is a Danish professional road racing cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam Visma–Lease a Bike. Described as one of the best climbers of his generation, his rivalry with Tadej Pogačar is considered one of the greatest of all time. He is best known for winning the 2022 and 2023 editions of the Tour de France. Vingegaard, whose youth career initially saw little success, made his Grand Tour debut at the 2020 Vuelta a España. Then, in 2021, he participated in his first Tour de France and secured a second-place finish overall. In early 2022, he was appointed Team Jumbo–Visma's co-team captain alongside Primož Roglič ahead of the 2022 Tour de France. During the race itself, he not only clinched the overall classification but also claimed the polka dot jersey. This made him the second Danish cyclist ever to win the Tour de France. He also set a record for the highest average speed throughout the entire race. In 2023, Vingegaard achieved his second successive Tour de France general classification.

7. Leif Mortensen (b. 1946)

With an HPI of 47.52, Leif Mortensen is the 7th most famous Danish Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Leif Mortensen (born 5 May 1946) is a former Danish professional road bicycle racer. He won a silver medal in the individual road race at the 1968 Summer Olympics while finishing fourth in the team time trial. In 1970–1975 he rode professionally with the following achievements.

8. Michael Rasmussen (b. 1974)

With an HPI of 46.36, Michael Rasmussen is the 8th most famous Danish Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Michael Rasmussen (born 1 June 1974) is a retired Danish professional cyclist who competed in road racing and mountain biking. His most notable victories include four stages of the Tour de France (shared Danish record), one stage of the Vuelta a España and a win on the Italian classic Giro dell'Emilia in 2002. He also won the best climber classification in the 2005 and 2006 Tour de France. Specializing in climbing, Rasmussen showed a propensity for attempting spectacular wins in mountain stages in which he broke away from the peloton early and rode alone for most of the stage. Michael Rasmussen was known for his care for detail when considering weight. With a low weight (60 kg) he was usually one of the lightest riders in his class. In the 2007 Tour de France, Rasmussen while wearing the yellow jersey and well on his way to winning the Tour, had his contract terminated by his team and was removed from the Tour. He served a two-year ban from July 2007 to July 2009 for lying about his whereabouts. At a press conference on 31 January 2013, Rasmussen admitted that he had used performance-enhancing drugs and methods, including EPO, growth hormones, insulin, testosterone, DHEA, IGF-1, Oxyglobin, cortisone and blood doping, for most of his professional career.

9. Mogens Frey (b. 1941)

With an HPI of 46.28, Mogens Frey is the 9th most famous Danish Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Mogens Frey Jensen (born 2 July 1941) is a retired Danish amateur cyclist who competed successfully both on the road and on track. He won, along with Gunnar Asmussen, Per Lyngemark and Reno Olsen, a gold medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics in the 4 km team pursuit and finished second individually. However, he is more famous for the way he won stage 9 in the 1970 Tour de France. Here, he defeated his own team captain Joaquim Agostinho. Agostinho was first over the finish line, but was immediately disqualified for putting his hand on Frey's handlebars, thus holding him back in the sprint. It was the only Danish Tour de France stage win until 1983. Frey also won the individual pursuit event at the 1968 world championships and finished second in 1967 behind Gert Bongers.

10. Gunnar Asmussen (b. 1944)

With an HPI of 44.21, Gunnar Asmussen is the 10th most famous Danish Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Gunnar Henry Asmussen (born 10 May 1944) is a retired Danish amateur cyclist. He won a gold medal in the track team pursuit at the 1968 Summer Olympics and placed 13th in 1972. Asmussen held national titles both in the road race (1964–65, 1971) and track team pursuit (1969–71, 1974 and 1976).

People

Pantheon has 64 people classified as Danish cyclists born between 1873 and 2000. Of these 64, 57 (89.06%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Danish cyclists include Tony Rominger, Bjarne Riis, and Ole Ritter. The most famous deceased Danish cyclists include Henry Hansen, Willy Hansen, and Axel Schandorff. As of April 2024, 13 new Danish cyclists have been added to Pantheon including Ole Ritter, Kim Andersen, and Jesper Skibby.