The Most Famous
CYCLISTS from Sweden
Top 10
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Swedish Cyclists of all time. This list of famous Swedish 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 Swedish Cyclists.
1. Gösta Pettersson (b. 1940)
With an HPI of 52.58, Gösta Pettersson is the most famous Swedish Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages on wikipedia.
Gösta Artur Roland Pettersson (born 23 November 1940) is a retired Swedish cyclist. As an amateur, he competed in the individual and team road events at the 1960, 1964 and 1968 Olympics and won one silver and two bronze medals, in 1964 and 1968. In 1968 he also took part in two track events: individual and team 4000 m pursuit. Pettersson's brothers, Erik, Sture and Tomas, were also Olympic cyclists, and their quartet was known as the Fåglum brothers. They won the World Amateur Cycling Championships in 1967–1969 and a team silver medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics; three of the brothers were also part of the bronze-winning road team at the 1964 Games. In 1967 they were awarded the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal. After the 1969 World Championships the Fåglum brothers turned professional. In 1970 Gösta won the Tour de Romandie, Coppa Sabatini and Trofeo Baracchi (with brother Tomas), and finished third at the Tour de France and sixth at the Giro d'Italia. Next year he won the Giro d'Italia, Giro dell'Appennino and Giro delle Marche. During the 1971 Giro he only managed to finish on the stage podium twice and did not win any stages, but was able to win the Maglia Rosa by finishing higher than the GC riders in the time trials and staying with or ahead of them in the mountains. He finished sixth at the 1972 Giro d'Italia and seventh at the 1973 Tour de Suisse. During the Giro he defeated Merckx in a sprint finish on stage 7 to claim a stage win and come within only +0:10 of Merckx for the overall lead, the only competitor even close to Merckx in the standings. He stayed with the two time Giro champ for the next several stages but ended up losing time in the split time trial of stage 11 and fell back in the standings. His last major success was second place at the 1974 Tour de Suisse. Of the Grand Tours he preferred to ride the Giro, competing from 1970 to 1974 finishing in the top ten four times, never finishing worse than 13th. He rode the Tour De France in 1970 finishing on the podium behind Eddy Merckx and Joop Zoetemelk. After finishing atop the podium in the Giro, ahead of Herman Van Springel and Italian rider Ugo Colombo, he started the 1971 TDF, but abandoned the race prior to reaching the Jaques Anquetil Velodrome. Pettersson never raced in the Vuelta.
2. Erik Pettersson (b. 1944)
With an HPI of 46.57, Erik Pettersson is the 2nd most famous Swedish Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Erik Håkan Pettersson (born 4 April 1944) is a retired Swedish cyclist. He was part of the road racing team of four Pettersson brothers, known as Fåglum brothers, who won the world title in 1967–1969 and a silver medal at the 1968 Olympics; three of the brothers were also part of the bronze-winning road team at the 1964 Games. In 1967 they were awarded the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal. Erik was the fastest sprinter among the Fåglum brothers; he was nicknamed Rödtoppen for his red hair. He turned professional after the 1969 World Championships, together with the other brothers, but had little success and retired in 1971.
3. Bernhard Britz (1906 - 1935)
With an HPI of 44.66, Bernhard Britz is the 3rd most famous Swedish Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Bernhard Rudolf Britz (27 March 1906 – 31 May 1935) was a Swedish road racing cyclist who won bronze medals in the individual and team road races at the 1932 Summer Olympics. Between 1927 and 1933 he won nine national titles, three individual and six in teams. He was also an innovator and developed a bicycle gear, though without much commercial success. He died after a collision with a truck in a cycling race in 1935.
4. Tomas Pettersson (b. 1947)
With an HPI of 43.61, Tomas Pettersson is the 4th most famous Swedish Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Tomas Pettersson (born 15 May 1947) is a retired Swedish cyclist. He was part of the road racing team of four Pettersson brothers, known as Fåglum brothers, who won the world title in 1967–1969 and a silver medal at the 1968 Olympics. In 1967 they were awarded the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal. Petterson turned professional after the 1969 World Championships, together with the other brothers. He rode the Tour de France in 1970 and 1971, and won the 1970 Trofeo Baracchi (together with brother Gösta). He retired prematurely in 1973, and later regretted that decision.
5. Bernt Johansson (b. 1953)
With an HPI of 43.01, Bernt Johansson is the 5th most famous Swedish Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.
Bernt Harry Johansson (born 18 April 1953) is a Swedish former road bicycle racer, who was a professional rider from 1977 to 1981. His sporting career began with Mariestadcyklisten. A competitor at the 1972 Summer Olympics, he represented his native country once again at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where he won the men's individual road race. For that performance Johansson was awarded the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal the same year, together with track and field athlete Anders Gärderud, who claimed gold in the men's 3000 m steeplechase in Montreal.
6. Magnus Bäckstedt (b. 1975)
With an HPI of 37.57, Magnus Bäckstedt is the 6th most famous Swedish Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.
Magnus Bäckstedt (born 30 January 1975) is a Swedish former professional road bicycle racer. His most notable achievement in cycling is winning Paris–Roubaix in 2004.
7. Gustav Larsson (b. 1980)
With an HPI of 37.45, Gustav Larsson is the 7th most famous Swedish Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.
Gustav Erik Larsson (born 20 September 1980) is a Swedish former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2001 and 2016 for nine different teams. Larsson specialised as a time trialist, winning the Swedish National Time Trial Championships seven times between 2006 and 2015, and won silver medals at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and the 2009 World Championships in Mendrisio.
8. Michel Lafis (b. 1967)
With an HPI of 35.51, Michel Lafis is the 8th most famous Swedish Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Michel Peter Lafis (born 19 September 1967) is a Swedish former cyclist. He won the bronze medal in the Men's 100 kilometres team time trial along with Jan Karlsson, Anders Jarl and Björn Johansson at the 1988 Summer Olympics. He also rode at the 1992, 1996 and the 2000 Summer Olympics.
9. Fredrik Kessiakoff (b. 1980)
With an HPI of 34.93, Fredrik Kessiakoff is the 9th most famous Swedish Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.
Fredrik Carl Wilhelm Kessiakoff (born 17 May 1980) is a Swedish former professional road bicycle racer. Kessiakoff turned to road racing in 2009, having had a successful career as a professional mountain biker for many years, winning the Swedish national championship 4 times, and finishing third at the 2006 World Mountain biking championships. He twice represented Sweden at the Olympics. Kessiakoff retired in 2014.
10. Jan Karlsson (b. 1966)
With an HPI of 34.56, Jan Karlsson is the 10th most famous Swedish Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Jan Bengt Peter Karlsson (born 8 February 1966) is a Swedish former cyclist. He won the bronze medal in the team time trial road race along with Anders Jarl, Michel Lafis and Björn Johansson in the 1988 Summer Olympics. He also rode at the 1992 Summer Olympics and the 1996 Summer Olympics.
People
Pantheon has 17 people classified as Swedish cyclists born between 1906 and 1994. Of these 17, 16 (94.12%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Swedish cyclists include Gösta Pettersson, Erik Pettersson, and Tomas Pettersson. The most famous deceased Swedish cyclists include Bernhard Britz. As of April 2024, 1 new Swedish cyclists have been added to Pantheon including Michel Lafis.
Living Swedish Cyclists
Go to all Rankings
Gösta Pettersson
1940 - Present
HPI: 52.58
Erik Pettersson
1944 - Present
HPI: 46.57
Tomas Pettersson
1947 - Present
HPI: 43.61
Bernt Johansson
1953 - Present
HPI: 43.01
Magnus Bäckstedt
1975 - Present
HPI: 37.57
Gustav Larsson
1980 - Present
HPI: 37.45
Michel Lafis
1967 - Present
HPI: 35.51
Fredrik Kessiakoff
1980 - Present
HPI: 34.93
Jan Karlsson
1966 - Present
HPI: 34.56
Emma Johansson
1983 - Present
HPI: 33.10
Susanne Ljungskog
1976 - Present
HPI: 32.41
Thomas Löfkvist
1984 - Present
HPI: 31.85
